Grovyle: Between Time and Darkness
by ProfessorLugia
Summary: I am Grovyle... And this is the second part of my story... Things are getting a bit more complicated as I find myself in the middle of a battle... Not only for the future, but the past. The hidden land is preparing for a massive war, between the Insurgo and Dialga's Army. Connor and I need to find the time gears, and get to the past before it's too late.
1. The Time Gears

_**Alright! The long awaited sequel is here! Enjoy!**_

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**-Grovyle: Between Time and Darkness-**

**-Prologue-**

Hey-oh! Galvantula here, and I was just dropping by to tell you two things. One, Grovyle is busy studying the mainland Time Gear thing with Connor. That's why he's not doing the whole 'I... am Grovyle' thing for the prologue. Two, if you don't know me or even recognize my name as an important friend of Grovyle's, then you should probably to go back and read the first part of this thing. I'm like super important! If you're wanting to read this one first, without reading the other one, you're going to be in for a bad time that is full of confusion! Just sayin'! I mean it! You can go on, but be warned. There's some strange things happenin' in G's world. (That's short for Grovyle, in case you didn't know.) That can only be explained with the power of Arceus… Just kidding! The most interesting thing right now is if he'll finally stop being so vacuous about the whole Celebi situation. I'll let you guys move on, but be warned again! Galvantula out!

**-Chapter 1: The Time Gears-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I kept looking at my arms and legs, having trouble believing that it was me. I mean, I knew it was, and I knew that I'd undergo some drastic changes, but this was crazy… I felt so much more powerful, like my old body had been quashing my strength, and I finally broken the bonds.

I couldn't help it; I was amazed. I felt so free… The rage I had felt towards Connor a few moments earlier for sneaking an everstone into my bag, which postponed my evolution, was dispersed by the sheer joy of reaching my second stage in achieving the maximum potential that I was capable of. Connor and I were discussing the whole thing about how to get to the mainland, and where the time gears were… From the information I had gathered, neither of us had a clue as to where the Time Gears were, so this could theoretically take forever before we can go to the past to get them for real.

"Say, Connor, why can't we just get the time gears from this world?"  
He was studying his map, and as he looked up, his low, masculine voice replied, "Because the time gears' energy is useless now that time's frozen. Without time flowing, the Time Gears don't do anything. That's why we need to go to the past to get them."  
"Then why don't we go to the past right away, if we need to get them from there anyways?"  
I always found myself questioning the things that had to do with time travelling or dimension hopping. They just didn't make a lot of sense to me. Connor helped with that a lot, putting it into a perspective that I could understand.

"Because, Grovyle, once we get to the past, we're on the clock. We can find them here, without the pressure of finding them in time to stop the collapse of Temporal Tower, or go to the past and be under pressure because of the planet's impending doom. What do you think?"

A smirk crossed my face as I replied, "Point proven. Have you figured out where they might be?"

He was studying the map rather intently while floating the maps of all of the regions from Concordia, the world where humans and pokemon lived in harmony for the most part, around him. He seemed particularly interested in the Sinnohan map. He set the others aside, and began examining the one remaining; "You see, Grovyle… The three lake guardians were the embodiment of free will in Sinnohan mythology. Supposedly they are called the lake guardians because they each protect something at their respective lake. I am presuming that it is a Time Gear, and there are three lake guardians, and if each one is guarding an individual Time Gear, then that would make me presume that there are two more left that shouldn't have guardians…"

"Why can't we just walk around until we find five of them? There are hundreds around the mainland, right?"

He shook his head at me, and explained further, "No, we have to find the five major ones. They are the hardest to locate, and naturally, because that's always how this sort of thing plays out, they are the five that we need. The hundreds of time gears scattered around are in turn powered by the main five."

After a long pause, Connor stood up abruptly and beckoned me over. I walked over, and he smiled, "Alright, so I retraced the locations of the three lakes in the Sinnoh region onto the map here…"

He pointed to the little squares that he drew in aura on the map, but we were both interrupted by a small portal appearing in the middle of his room, coughing up random items that I hadn't seen before… There was a red white and blue circular shield with a white star on it, and Connor glanced at it, then at a huge pile of scrap metal that looked like random pieces of junk was thrown up by the portal, then the mysterious portal vanished.

I turned to him, "What the heck was that?"

He smiled, "A transdimensional portal… Items from all over all the dimensions get thrown through it, including digital dimensions, like movies, games, things of that sort. No living things come through, but there's always junk coming to and fro. When it appears, I throw any of my unneeded stuff into it for some other person to use."

He quickly refocused, "I'll mess with that stuff later…" He pointed to the map again, "Anywho, I retraced the map of the Kanto region over them, then lined up the Unova Region with the edges of that, and I looked for the corresponding points on the map. There are three big lakes that are rumored to exist on the Mainland: The Underground Lake, Crystal Lake, and Fogbound Lake. If each one is guarded by a lake guardian, then we can presume that there was a time gear there, if there isn't one already."

"Alright… Say, why did you call me Grovyle as soon as I evolve?"

He smiled again, but continued to study the maps that were spread out in front of him, "When pokemon evolve, their name becomes whatever they evolve into, unless they are given a nickname by others. It's weird how all that stuff works. I would still call you Treecko, but when I do that, your mind says that you're Grovyle. That's probably why Dusknoir got agitated when you called him Dusclops way back when he first evolved."

The thought of Dusclops hurt me more than Connor realized… The ghostly mummy pokemon had rescued my mother and I while we were on the run from some Sableye, and Primal Dialga, the Lord of Time, convinced him to join him. He was like family to me, and Dialga took him away… He is still alive, but he's Dialga's right-hand pokemon, I'd imagine. I'd rather be dead than work for Dialga. He thinks that I'm dead, because he killed me, but Giratina let me find my body again, which was really painful… Anywho, I'm not dead anymore, and Dusclops was still a touchy subject. Case closed.

Connor apologized, "Sorry… I didn't realize how much he still meant to you."

I wiped a tear from the edge of my eye, "No, you're fine… I need to get ahold of myself."

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**_Alright... Finally, I have finished the sequel... It's full of plot twists and unexpected turns of events, so stay on your toes! Leave a review or PM if you want to have OCs submitted for part 3, and stay tuned for updates! Thanks for the Support, DeoxysSpeed, and Yamato! I hope that this story is on par with the first! Much love!_**

**_-PL_**


	2. Celebi and Grovyle

_**I am sticking to my two-a-days. **_

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**-Chapter 2: Celebi and Grovyle-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

After Connor explained to me the entirety of how to find the time gears, I tried to think of a more time-friendly plan, but I couldn't. Connor laughed almost inaudibly, but my senses were all heightened because of my new form.

I heard it, and he smiled, "Yeah… My plans are usually really thought out."

I couldn't think of anything to reply to that, and Connor pat my shoulder, "Don't worry, partner. We'll make it."

I walked next to him as he exited his room, which was one of about six hundred, including my own. Since he was the leader, it was definitely the fanciest, with a draconian iron balcony, with a full patio and everything that looked over the cavern.

I glanced across the giant cave that was in the hollow of Dragon Mountain, and I saw two of my good friends, Galvantula and Tyranitar. Tyranitar was basically a stone tank, and Galvantula was the jokester, and electric yellow tarantula that could control electricity. He could be serious, but he doesn't like going very long without making some jokes.

They were the most unlikely pair, yet they were such good friends, it made me quite jealous of their shared friendship.; I didn't have any good friends here besides Celebi, Connor and those two. I saw some others, such as Aggron, Dragonite, Arbok, Haxorus, and even a Claydol wandering around the cavern. Connor said that they were made by humans or something like that according to Concordia's records about it, but I guess not, since it was here…

We're in a world with only pokemon, except for Connor. He's a special case, because Arceus let him be reincarnated here… It's a whole 'nother story that I got to experience firsthand through a vision-type of thing… It's pretty cool.

Although, I feel like there was a gap in the story, something that didn't quite make enough sense… Like his power… That can't be taught… Not like that. He could already unfreeze time when he was first brought to this world, which lead me to think that there was a middle stage somewhere in between his death, and his life with Lucario. Something that even he didn't know about himself. I tried to press for details, only to be shut down every time.

Connor looked across his village and couldn't help but smile, "Wow… It's been so long… Since I started this, y'know? Then before I know it, i'm leading the biggest rebel army in the hidden land…"

My mind kept shifting back to the mainland, and how we would get there. I decided to voice my concern, "How are you going to get us there, Connor?"  
He looked down to me, "Victini will give me the power boost I need to slingshot us through the time barrier, and then we use a draco pearl to get back."

"Draco Pearl?"  
He nodded, "Yeah. It's a little pearl that you throw onto the ground and it brings you here, no matter where you are. Palkia gave a few of these to me when I was incarnated here; I'm all sorts of lucky, I guess."

His previous statement came to mind, "Wait, You're going to slingshot us?"  
He shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, more or less. I can't bypass the time barrier without punching a hole straight through it, so I need to shatter through it using force."

"How powerful is Victini, anyways?"  
He smiled slyly, "It depends. He is very powerful in the fact that he can boost others' strength immensely, making a Tepig capable of knocking out a Samurott with ember, but he can't give that power boost to himself ironically, so he's pretty limited in that regard."  
Victini's voice emanated from behind us, "Oh, so now I'm weak?"  
Connor turned slightly, "I didn't say that;" He gasped slightly after seeming to realize something, "Your timing is excellent, Victini. Could you please go get Celebi for me? Grovyle wishes for her to join us on our expedition to the mainland, along with Galvantula and Tyranitar."

Victini nodded, seeming to forget the entire thing about being weak, and flew off.

He looked to me, completely serious, "Grovyle… How are you so upbeat all the time? I know of the losses you have had to endure, but still, you're so positive… Of course, I can read your mind, but that can only get you so far. I want to know why you refuse to let this world get the better of you."

I thought about it, and replied, "Y'know, Tyranitar asked me the same thing. And I told him that no matter what happens in your life, the timing and place of your birth don't matter. I could have been born into a world of light, lived a happy life with…"

I hesitated, and Connor smiled, "Who, Celebi?"  
I blushed slightly, in spite of my best efforts. That little pink pokemon was so charming... "Yeah… I could have even been born into Concordia, but I was chosen to be born here. It's not when or where you're born that matters, it's what you do with your life that does. I could choose to be a coward and join Dialga, preying upon the innocent pokemon that are trying to change this world for the better, just because I didn't want to disappear. But, I want to make this world one of light. I have seen the ball of fire in the sky, and the warmth that it brings to the world. I wish to change this future, to keep the ball of fire in the sky for those that live after me, even if I disappear in the process. That's why I don't join with Dialga; His followers want to survive, but that isn't living. Living is experiencing things of your own free will, and have adventures, romance, action, maybe a few close calls with death. They're trying to stop other pokemon from most of that, and for what? Sure, we age really slowly, but eventually we will all return to dust, so the timing of our disappearance doesn't matter. While I live, no matter how long it may be, I want to shine! To prove that I exist!"

Connor smiled and gave me a thumbs up, "That was really good; I'm impressed. And that ball of fire is called the sun."

I smiled further, "That's a neat name… It sounds like son…"

He smiled wordlessly, and after a long and awkward silence, Connor thought out loud, "How long does it take to find Celebi?"  
He grabbed my hand, and we were transported to the entrance of Celebi's room. When Connor pushed the vines aside, I noticed all of the furniture… She took the designs from my room. The couches and Hammock and stuff were much more decorative, and elaborate, to make it her own. It had grassy, flowery floors, and glowing moss walls, with a mini forest in there, trees and all.

Celebi was shouting at Victini, who was sitting on one of the couches, "And what makes you think that I want to accompany them anywhere?!"  
Victini started glowing slightly, flames sparking to life in his hands, lapping up his body, "You are being so-" He saw Connor, and quickly sat back down. "Connor! I, uh…"  
Connor's face was unamused, "I can see what's going on, Victini. Celebi, what seems to be the issue here?"  
She pointed to Victini, her face turning an even brighter shade of pink, "This bozo just decided to barge in without knocking, and I was changing!"  
I decided to interject, "Um, Celebi… Pokemon don't wear clothes."  
She snapped, "I don't c-" Then she looked at me. Her mouth opened slightly, and she murmured, "Treecko…?"  
I laughed as I forgot that she hadn't seen me evolved yet, "The one and only. Literally. Except it's Grovyle… That's what I'm called now. Apparently it's some sort of rule or something."

Her big green eyes watered up, making them as reflective as crystals, and she murmured, "You evolved…?" She landed on the ground and walked up to me. She was only up to my chest in height, which I knew she wouldn't be happy about, but she looked up to me, "You are a Grovyle…"  
I nodded, a slight hint of uncertainty in my voice, "Yeah… Is that a prob-" I stopped when she embraced me, her head buried in my chest, as she sniffled, "You're a Grovyle…"  
She looked up, a smile across her face, "My dear Grovyle… You have returned."

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_**Um... Yeah. Chapter 2. Reviews or PMs are appreciated, and I hope to see you all tomorrow! Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	3. Preparing for the Trek Ahead

**-Chapter 3: Preparing for the Trek Ahead-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I looked down to Celebi, my thoughts revolving around what she had just said, "I have returned? What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled, tears in her eyes, "You were dead… But you're here now…"

I held her up in my arms, "What do you mean I was dead?"

Her smile faded, "You… Were killed. In the great battle. I saw you… I couldn't save you in time…"

Her eyes welled up, and I embraced her firmly, "Hey, It's ok, I'm here..."

She wiped a tear from her eye, "I see that..."

She backed up as she smiled and looked into my eyes. She flew at eye level with me, and Connor cleared his throat, "So… Celebi, do you want to come with us to the mainland or not?"

She stammered, not taking her eyes off of me, "I… S-Sure!" She began rummaging through her stuff, packing a bag, and Connor exclaimed, "Oh, right! Grovyle, I want to give you this…"

Connor handed me a brown leather pouch, like a duffel bag, and he gleamed, "That is insurgo patented technology, invented by myself! I found a way to match Palkia's spatial distortion abilities, and I did some advanced incantations to put Palkia's power into that wonder bag. So it can hold limitless items, without it weighing any more than it does now. And whenever you reach for something, just think of it, and it automagically appears in your hand!" He smiled, "See the pun I did there? Auto-Magically? Eh?"

I looked at it warily, recalling how he had snuck an everstone into my bag when I first arrived to the insurgo, postponing my evolution, "There's no items that I'm not aware of, right?"

His smile was replaced with a straight face as he waved his hands, "Oh, goodness no. That was a one time thing."

I took hold of it, and the strap marked itself with Celebi's mark and The mark of Dialga.

Connor smiled, "Also, no matter where you are, since it's bonded with you, it will bend space itself to appear next to you, so you don't need to worry about losing it or anything. Sort of like Riptide."

"Riptide?"

He shook his head, "It's a… Human thing. Sorry. So, Celebi. Grovyle. Pack your bags, because we're leaving as soon as you are ready!"

Victini followed Connor out of the cavern, and I reached my hand into the bag. It wasn't any larger than a duffel bag, like the kind that holds a few scrolls in it, but when I reached into it, I could fit my whole upper body into the compartment. Celebi flew over to m and smiled, "Done! Sorry about that snappy remark a minute ago… Victini just annoys me with his presence… Gah!" She turned her head in embarrassment, and I smiled as I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright. Victini was a total jerkbag to me at first. But he's pretty enjoyable to be around once you warm up to him."  
She had her back turned to me, so all I could see were her little wings fluttering slightly as she double checked her bags. She turned to me after a moment, and floated at eye-level with me, and she gently said, "Are you ready to change the world, my dear Grovyle?"

I nodded, and looked into her eyes, "Celebi… I hope that my evolution won't change anything between us…"  
She smiled as she put her hand on my cheek, "This changes nothing, my dear Grovyle… I will always be by your side, until the end of time…"  
She smiled warmly, tears in her eyes, and I wrapped my arms around her, embracing her gently. She gasped at the suddenness, but she embraced me back, and I could feel her emotions, almost like she was communicating with me.

Then, she asked me a question that caught me by surprise, "What do you see us as?"

I didn't know if it was some sort of test, or trick question, or what, so I sort of stammered flusteredly, "Uh… Is that… What… How am I supposed to answer that?"

Celebi giggled, obviously not put off by my apparent awkwardness, "Do you see us as partners, friends, or more than that, perhaps?"

My head flooded with so many thoughts and emotions at once, I had no clue what to say. Lucky for me, Galvantula appeared out of nowhere like he normally does, except this time he really appeared out of nowhere, literally materializing between me and Celebi. He turned around, and seemed confused, "What the- Oh, I see… What's up, Tr...Grovyle! Ha! I should start calling you G! I like that name! It suits you… It sounds like my name." He looked at Celebi, "What up, C?"

She scowled at him, "Don't call me that."

He smiled, "Alright, don't get your temporal undies in a twist."

I smiled slightly at that last comment, and Celebi snapped, "It's not funny!"

Galvantula replied with a different accent as he gestured towards me, "Then why is he smiling with an amused face? Hmmm?"

Celebi's eyes began glowing, and Galvantula backed away, "Whoa, stop with the whole glowy-eyes thing."

Celebi smiled warmly, "Alright, Galvantula! Heehee!"

Galvantula was obviously confused, because he turned to me, "Hey, I was just talking to Tyranitar, and all of the sudden, I was teleported here. I didn't even know you two were here. I thought you left for the mainland already."

I didn't think that Connor had told anybody yet, so I asked, "Who told you that?"

Galvantula replied, "Nobody. I figured it out using cold, hard logic!"

I scoffed jokingly, "What logic?"

He leapt up, "The logic of my ancestors…" His face was so serious, it was hard to tell if he was kidding or not...

Galvantula scuttled around me, his legs moving in a blur of motions, "Yeah, I'm going with you guys! Same with Tyranitar!"

As if on cue, Tyranitar walked in, "Hey guys, Victini told me what's happening; When are we going?"

Connor's voice came from the corner of the room, and he walked out of the wall like he usually does when he's in a hurry, "As soon as you are all ready, we will leave."

Celebi had a hint of annoyance in her eyes as she replied, "Well, I'm packed!"

Galvantula pulled up a section of fur on his body, and a small bag was hidden under it, "I'm ready!"

Tyranitar was carrying a bag that looked similar to mine, "I'm ready too."

The only one that wasn't ready… Was me. I reached into my bag, hoping that I had something, and I did. I could tell what was in the bag without even looking, like it communicated with me through telepathy or something, and I pulled out an oran berry, "I'm ready!"

Connor smiled, "Alright, let's go!" He began walking out of the cavern, and walked across the bridges that webbed the entire cavern to the entrance. I tried to climb the walls like I normally would have, but I wasn't a treecko anymore… I guess that I couldn't climb like I used to. I grabbed the stone, but my hand slipped and I fell. I stood back up, slightly frustrated, "Why can't I-"

Connor tapped my shoulder, "You can jump like a blaziken now. Try that."

I nodded, and crouched down.

The entrance platform to the insurgo cavern was a few dozen yards away, so I braced myself as I leapt with all of my strength, and I landed against the wall above the entrance, so I figured that I could easily jump a lot further if I wanted to. I smiled, "Alright… I can settle for this…"

Connor, Celebi, and Victini levitated down next to me, while Galvantula and Tyranitar swung on webs. Galvantula shouted, "Yaaaaaaaaaa! As he swung, and landed on my chest, knocking me over. He made a ninja pose, standing on his back two legs, "Have at thee! Hya!" He jabbed at me with an electric punch, and I backed up, "Whoa! What are you doing?"  
He smiled, "Getting into ze character of destroying some Sableye on my way to ze pinnacle! Again, monsieur!"

Connor chuckled, "How the heck do you know French?"

Galvantula smiled as he replied, "I read ze languages of terra, and decided to mimic their accents and languages! I believed that it would make me more-" He changed his pose and accent again, this time tipping a large leaf over his head like a big floppy hat, "Mysterious, Señor."

We laughed as Tyranitar stumbled and rolled a couple times before standing up and exclaiming, "Let's go!"

We laughed some more, and Galvantula looked away, "Yep! I'm ready to head to th' pinnacle when you guys are."

Connor warped us out of the mountain, and we began the trek.

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_**Alrighty; Chapter 3! Leave Reviews or PM me if you have anything to say, whether it be good, bad, or both. Much love!**_

_**-PL**_


	4. Journey to the Pinnacle

**It's yo boy Prof. Lugia! Chapter 4!**

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**-Chapter 4: Journey to the Pinnacle-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I'll admit, Galvantula really grew on me in the few short days here that felt like a lifetime… It's hard to believe that I was only here for less than what Connor said was a week…

So, after we hiked for a while, nobody was talking, so Connor decided to start a conversation.

"So, Celebi, how did you and Treecko meet?"

Celebi was fluttering next to me, and she thought about it, humming slightly, "Hm… Well, I rescued him when he came back from the dead, and I recall healing Tyranitar when he came up to me and tried to impress me with some healing paste that he made. Then I kind of appeared randomly to him until you knocked me out of the time straddling I was doing."  
Connor laughed louder than he intended, and he called back to me, "Oh my gosh, you tried to impress her with plant paste? You should have shown her some of your sickest battle moves, like flipping through the air and stuff!" As if to prove his point, he flipped through the air in slow-motion, using his aura to stay suspended in midair as he flipped three times super slowly, not touching the ground, "If any human girl knew what I can do now… Pfft, I could get any girl I want."

I smiled mischievously, "And why are girls important to you?"

We were still walking, and he hesitated before breathing heavily, "They aren't; I'm just sayin'…"

I suppressed a smile as Connor fidgeted with his robe, signaling his nervousness, and I replied, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you want a partner that's a human!"

Connor didn't reply, and I stopped smiling, "Connor…?"

He shushed us all and whispered, "Get down! Galvantula, use camouflage to conceal Tyranitar and you…"

Galvantula smiled, "With pleasure, my liege… Tyranitar, my dearest friend, may we be concealed underneath my _Highly_ specialized web that grants us nearly perfect camouflage in any environment that is not in the presence of water, as some humans call it?"

Tyranitar nodded, and Galvantula spit up a web that spread out into a sheet, and seemed to turn practically invisible as it floated down, blending in perfectly with the stone path. It draped over them, and I couldn't even see them. I heard Galvantula's voice, though. "Oy! Don't touch me mait!"

I nearly laughed at that, but I stopped myself. Connor chanted, "_Vicissim ipse invisibilia" _and disappeared, seeming to vanish like a Kecleon. Celebi disappeared as well, along with Victini.

I was alone, within a few seconds. I looked around and I heard the shuffling of sableye and the heavy footsteps of Golurk. I climbed further up the path, and came to an overhang.

When I turned the corner, being extremely wary, I saw a Golurk's head move past me. I froze, and it looked straight at me, its red eyes seeming to scan my very being. I didn't move, which I'll admit was pretty stupid, but its hardened clay head exploded in a fireball, sending ceramic shards in every direction. A few nearly impaled themselves in my body, but I used detect to dodge them all before I could die in some other embarrassing way.

Victini appeared through the flames, and shouted, "Go, go, go!" I leapt down into the crowd of sableye, and began slashing at them. They didn't seem to want to attack, though… They were staring at me intently, as if waiting for something. I looked at my arm that beared the mark of Dialga, which symbolized that I worked for him for a time, and the Sableye froze, their gaze set on it.

One of the little purple munchkins walked forward, and I raised my leaf blades towards it, and it knelt on one knee, "Master Grovyle…"  
_Huh? I thought that my betrayal would have lead to the sableye hating me, if anything… But now they're calling me master?_

I guess the mark meant that they answered to me… Cool. I nodded, being very wary of him, "Yes…?"

The Sableye looked to me, "I will not fight you…"

I nodded, "Alright... These other pokemon are with me as well, so don't attack them."

Then, I heard a deep, rumbly voice, "So… Giratina did let you live…"

I turned, and a tall purple pokemon appeared from shadows, and it sneered, "I thought Dusknoir killed you, but I had to make sure. Now, to make an example of the sableye that sides with a traitor…"

I smiled slightly, in spite of my serious type disadvantage, "Leave him out of this, Gengar."  
Gengar raised his hand, and a ball of purple shadows formed in his hand. He smiled, "Take this, you stupid Sableye!" He reared back, the shadow ball charged up, but then a bolt of blue energy exploded in front of him, causing him to drop it. He gasped as the ball of shadows exploded at his feet, knocking him back, and Connor's voice echoed around the ravine that we were in, "Gengar… Don't even try it."  
Gengar roared, out of pain and anger, "Attack! Go!"  
The golurk seemed to shake off their loyalty to me, and began advancing. Same with all the Sableye... Except for the one that knelt. He stood next to me, "I will fight by your side, Master Grovyle…" He was enveloped in a purple sphere, and the red crystal on his chest popped out and expanded until it was the size of me.

His skin darkened, and his claws grew longer. He carried the crystal almost effortlessly, and used it like a shield, ducking behind it when other sableye decided to swipe at him. None of the other Sableye underwent that transformation, but the golurk were still ridiculous… Connor took them out with energy bolts, but he had to keep moving when they almost were up on him. He moved, teleporting and shadow travelling, but suddenly, Gengar appeared in front of him, transformed into a more intimidating version of himself, with more of a crouched stance; He had a yellow ring in the center of his forehead.

He screeched in a voice that me cringe, "Surprise!" He sucker punched Connor, and he fell off of the ledge, tumbling down the mountainside. Gengar turned back to us, "Now it's your turn! Hehehehehehe!"

He melted into shadows again, this time going for Victini, who was fighting off the sableye using fire punches. Gengar travelled up the walls of the ravine and tackled him by catapulting through the shadow dimension, and used hypnosis to lull Victini to sleep once he was on the ground. Gengar opened his mouth, and pink clouds began being sucked from Victini's head; He was using Dream eater!  
I lunged at him, "No!" But he melted into shadows, "Hehehe! Can't catch me! I'm over here! No, wait, Over here!"  
He seemed to teleport like Connor did… Which reminded me that Connor fell off of the ledge… No way he should have been knocked out from one sucker punch…

Gengar's shadowy figure smiled as he appeared in front of me, and he threw a shadow-infused punch at me that hit my chest with pinpoint accuracy. I heard the crack of bones in my chest, and was thrown into the cliffside as my body exploded into pain.  
_Come on… Gengar's killing us!_

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**_Oh nuuuu! A cliffhanger! I love leaving you guys guessing... It makes for exciting twists and turns in the plot. Anywho, hope you enjoyed! Leave a quick PM or Review if you enjoyed, and I will see you all tomorrow! _**

**_-PL_**


	5. Victini's Capture

**Morning Post! You're Welcome!**

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**-Chapter 5: Victini's Capture-**

**-Celebi's POV-**

After my dear Grovyle was knocked down by Gengar, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands.  
_You're outmatched. His typing is superior in every way..._

I shook my head, "I have to! For Grovyle!"

The voice receded, and I had to use all of my power to stop Gengar. He was hovering over Grovyle, "So… The one of the Prophecy, huh? What an underwhelming battle this was. Too bad it's all over now…"  
I shouted, my voice echoing over itself eerily, "Leave him alone!" I raised my hands, and the stones behind me floated up, surrounded by my psychic. I bellowed in a more powerful voice, "Ancient Power!"

I waved my arms forward, and the stones flew towards Gengar. He melted into shadows, out of harm's way, but I made the portion of cliffside his shadow was in separate and float into the air. He re-materialized on top of the floating cliffside, and I smiled rather sinisterly, "So long, Gengar..."  
I shattered the entire rock, and made the shards fly back towards him. He howled in pain, and I kept going, piercing his skin while the shadowy blood poured from the wounds. "He will not harm another pokemon…"

I closed my hands, and the stone fragments enveloped him, crushing him. I continued, making the maelstrom of stone fragments into a vortex, but I was hit from behind by a shadow ball before I could finish the deed. I fell to the ground, and Gengar was released from the stone prison. I turned my head, and Dusknoir's red eye glared at me, "That's quite enough…"  
He pinned me down with shadow chains, and he grabbed Victini, who was still asleep on the floor, "You need him to get to Immanis, correct?"  
Connor's voice shouted, "Stop, Dusknoir! Leave him alone!"  
Dusknoir looked around, and calmly called back, his deep voice making me shudder, "He has attempted to alter the course of history, so he is to be removed from history! You know the drill, human!"

Just as he was about to disappear, I saw Tyranitar throw off his invisibility web cloak thing. He tackled Dusknoir to the ground, and Galvantula grabbed Victini from his grasp, "I got ye, lad! Let's get outta here!" He scuttled away, and Dusknoir recovered from the body slam exceptionally well. He grabbed Tyranitar's arm and slung him to the ground and kept him down with brick break, snapping one of Tyranitar's back plates off with one blow.

Tyranitar shouted in pain and didn't attempt to get up. Dusknoir floated upright and gloated, "You really thought you could win?"  
Galvantula had set Victini out of harm's way, and he shouted back, "Of course! That's how these sort of things go, right? The good guys win every time!"  
Dusknoir chuckled, "Oh, but that's not the case..." He vanished in the blink of an eye, and Galvantula looked around, "Th' heck is he?"

Dusknoir appeared behind Galvantula, forcefully whispering in a manner that made him visibly shiver, "Substitute. And now… Fire Punch."  
Galvantula turned around after he got over the initial shock, but Dusknoir uppercut him with a fiery fist, singing his electrically charged hairs and knocking him into the wall. He smiled, "And that, Insurgo scum, is how you perform a successful capture." He picked up Victini's sleeping body, and floated there for a moment before his stomach mouth smiled, "Alright, human! I will give your team mates Victini, if you turn yourself in right now!"  
Grovyle seemed to have healed enough to get up, because he stood up weakly and looked at Dusknoir with a sadness in his eyes, "Dusknoir… What are you doing?"  
Dusknoir hesitated, "Hello, Grovyle... I should say that it's nice to see you, but I wouldn't want to lie."

I voiced my confusion, because I didn't understand how Grovyle knew this Dusknoir... "My dear Grovyle… How do you know this pokemon?"  
Dusknoir chuckled, "Oh, you mean he didn't tell you? How inconsiderate. I thought you knew already, because you revived him right after I left, correct?"  
Grovyle turned to me, his eyes watery, "Celebi… He used to be my closest friend… I would daresay he was like my family, but Dialga corrupted him, made him what he is now using the mark of Dialga..."  
Dusknoir's golden mouth on his stomach frowned, "I chose this path myself! Nobody defines who I am except for me! I am not influenced by minor hypnosis spells!"  
I was still confused, but Dusknoir's stomach-mouth smiled, "No matter… Grovyle, tell your human friend to turn himself in."  
Before he could respond, Connor appeared behind Grovyle, and slowly looked down in defeat, "Alright… You win…"  
Grovyle grabbed his arm and glared at him, "Connor… No."

I prepared to teleport us out of there if Connor didn't get his act together, but he looked at Grovyle, eyes glistened with tears, "Dusknoir will kill him if I don't…"  
I watched as Grovyle let go and glared at Dusknoir, "I won't let you! Celebi!"  
He turned to me, and I nodded my understanding, thanking Arceus that I had begun preparing beforehands as I teleported us all back to Dragon mountain, including that Sableye.

When we all came to, Connor was standing straight up, glaring at me with tears in his eyes, "You... _let _him die…"  
I shook my head, "I did no such thing! You were about to give yourself up for him, and all of us thought that that plan was stupid!"  
He glanced around frantically, and Galvantula and Tyranitar, and even Grovyle nodded in agreement.

He turned to me again, and shook with rage, and I could tell that he was trying not to shoot me with an aura bolt.

He murmured, "You… Are so lucky I gave Arceus my word not to harm you…"  
The Sableye in the corner walked up to Grovyle, and Connor pinned it to the wall without warning, his eyes glowing, "What are you doing here?!"  
The Sableye was straining to talk, so Grovyle told him to ease up.

Connor whipped his head around, "You told Celebi to teleport us here! You're the reason Victini~"  
He grabbed his head in anguish, "Gah! And to think that I thought you were the one that the prophecy was about!"

I did not take kindly to that kind of blasphemy about my dear Grovyle, so I shouted, "Hey!"

Connor turned back to me, my shout shaking off his rant, "What?"  
I glared at him, "I did it myself. I was already working on it before my dear Grovyle simply suggested it."

Connor seemed to calm down a bit before he continued talking to the sableye, who was still pinned to the wall, "You… What do you know of Victini?"  
The Sableye hesitated, and Connor shouted, "Answer me!"  
The Sableye pointed to Grovyle, and murmured, "I only answer to Master Grovyle…"  
I was very impressed with this Sableye's bravery, standing up to Connor when he could easily be killed in a split second. Even I was scared when he went into a rage like this even though I knew he wouldn't harm me…

Connor glanced back and forth between them, and Connor tilted his head for Grovyle to ask.

Grovyle asked him calmly, "What do you know of Victini?"  
The Sableye was dropped from the wall, and it stood up, "Master Dus- I mean… Dusknoir wouldn't kill a bargaining chip like that… He would most likely hold him hostage, expecting the human to come after him. They will most likely cast a cloak revealing spell over the tower, but it'll be thinly spread, so the human could probably sneak us in without being exposed…"

Connor growled, "The name's Connor… Don't forget it."  
I glanced back and forth between them, and the Sableye nodded, "Um... Would you like to hear my plan on getting him back?"  
Connor looked like he'd rather kill him, but Grovyle stepped forward, "Yes, he would."  
Grovyle looked at Connor and shook his head slightly, and Connor leaned back in an obvious attempt to calm himself. "Alright, I'm listening…"

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**_I always end the chapters on such high points... All with love. Anywho, leave a quick Review or PM if you have any suggestions for the next story, or any OCs you want to be a part of Grovyle's Adventure! A quick question: Besides Grovyle, who is your favorite character in either of my stories? Let me know, and I will see you this evening!  
_**

**_-PL_**


	6. Sableye's Rescue Plan

_**Chapter 6. Here we go.**_

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**-Chapter 6: Sableye's Rescue Plan-**

**-Connor's POV-**

Yes, I calmed down while I heard the Sableye out. He had a plan to rescue Victini, and I wanted to hear it. Supposedly, they would keep him alive as bait for me… But I was expecting a trap, so I'd be fine. I don't see why Celebi teleported him here with us, but she hasn't been wrong about others yet, so I decided to give this little gremlin a chance.

Sableye muttered, "Okay… So, if I snuck in there, found out where they're hiding Victini, then you guys can sneak in invisibly like you did to sneak up on us and rescue him! Then sneak out invisibly, and nobody'll know you're there!"

I nodded, "Alright… That could probably work… But whose to say that you won't go and tell Dusknoir that we're coming?"

He smiled slightly, his teeth glowing white like snow, which was a little bit intimidating up close, even to me, "Oh, because if I go and tell them, Gengar will recognize me as the one who helped protect Master Grovyle and have me executed for helping a traitor!"

I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, which bothered me, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He trusted Grovyle immensely, which amounted to something, as well as earning Celebi's favor.

I gave him a Draco Diamond and a Draco Pearl, explaining how each one would teleport him there and back.

"You find Victini and get out. No unnecessary loitering. I've had enough of this dark world, and I'd prefer to change it as soon as possible."

The Sableye snatched up the two gems, his eyes sparkling, "Shiny…" And he stuck them to his skin like velcro. He gave me a thumbs up, and I watched as he threw the Draco Diamond to the ground and was transported away.

I clapped my hands after he vanished, "So… Tournament time!"  
Tyranitar grinned in excitement, "Nothing like fighting to the death to calm your nerves."

Grovyle smiled, "Yes… Let's go."

I nodded, turning to exploud, "Alright… Exploud, gather the Insurgo."

**-Sableye's POV-**

I simply _adore_ shiny things. Every Sableye does. Also, the crystals that we grow especially fond of, or just need to carry around can stick to our skin like velcro. It was pretty neat, I'll admit. Only we could do that. And I might as well mention now that I'm the only Sableye that can mega evolve… Go figure, I'm the only one that wanted to help Master Grovyle.

After I threw the crystal to the ground, I went through a weird portal thing. It was concealed by a flash of light, but once I was sucked in, I was coughed up by the portal in front of Temporal Tower. It felt weird walking in after betraying Master Dusknoir like that, but I couldn't afford to let it show, otherwise I would get caught…

I walked into the entrance, and was stopped by a spiritomb, whose voices echoed around in my head, "Unit name?"

I mumbled nervously, and cursed myself; Not the move curse, but… You get it. "Unit 106. Mission: Scout Dragon Mountain with General Gengar."

The Spiritomb grunted after a slight pause, and let me pass. I looked around, and it looked like the whole freakin' place was being prepared for a siege. Sableye were scrambling around, Golurk were putting metal grates across the windows, they were really going to town this time…

I continued up the stairs of Temporal Tower until I came to the second level of rooms. I peeked into each one and continued walking past until I saw it; Victini was in a cage suspended in the air.

_What the- How the heck'd they get him here so fast? I expected them to just be arriving… Master Dusknoir sure can book it for a pokemon without legs..._

He was being guarded by four Golurk, six sableye, and I saw a small keystone in the cage as well, which meant that…

My crystalline eyes grew wider as I saw what was happening, "Oh, no…"

Victini was curled into a ball, groaning in agony; A Spiritomb that was bound to a keystone had possessed him, and was eating away at his soul, slowly and painfully. No soul meant no afterlife in the distortion world… Even for Legendaries like him. His power should hold the Spiritomb off for a little while, but soon enough, the pool of power will dry, and Spiritomb always craved more… It's like, their punishment for their misdeeds or something. An eternal hunger that could not be satisfied.

"Gotta warn Master-"

I was knocked to the side by Master- I mean, Dusknoir, and he glared at me, "What were you coming to warn me about?"

I backed away slowly, "Oh… Um… It just slipped my mind, Master Dusknoir. I apologize. " I knelt on one knee, and he growled, "Incompetent little worms… Of course I had to intervene myself to get one insurgo member..." as he floated away on his little genie wisp.

I booked it up the staircase after he was gone, going all the way to the top before I stopped. I saw Master Dusknoir's room wide open, and I simply couldn't help myself… I strode over to it cautiously, looking for any shadows that might have been concealing guards. I didn't want to be spotted… I quickly snuck into the room, closing the door behind me, and began rummaging through his stuff.

I'll admit, there was some strange stuff… Blue pieces of paper that had white lines… Instructions for how to build something, it looked like… I read the title… "Ballista Crossbows…?"  
I set it aside as I rummaged through the other papers, finding some other strange devices, but none that really caught my eye… I looked around the room, looking for anything else that could be of help to the human… Connor. But the pile of things on Master Dusknoir's side table was all that was out of place. His bed was made, probably because he slept by levitating above it… But I don't know…

I turned, laughing at my risky decision, "Wheh heh heh… Well… Let's head back…"

I threw down the draco pearl, and it exploded into a big pink sphere, and enveloped me. It popped, and I was transported back to the room in Dragon Mountain where I first began…

"Huh. This thing really does bring you back to where you were." I looked around, but didn't see anything…

"Huh. Maybe they're on some sort of lunch break or something?"

I crawled around the cavern, clinging to the walls, and suddenly I was hit with a fireball from behind! I heard a voice behind me, "There's a Sableye here! Headmaster!" I leapt off of the wall, "Chill out, bub! I'm on your team!"  
Of course, the big dope didn't even acknowledge me. It was a Typhlosion, by the looks of it, and judging by the flamethrower he launched at me. I concentrated all of my energy, and was enveloped in a purple sphere of light. I held my giant crystal in front of me as a shield, blocking the flames, and I peeked around it, "Hey! I said I'm on your side!"

The stupid Typhlosion growled, "Quiet, worm!"  
I felt a slight breeze behind me, and I leapt out of the way as a Swampert smashed the ground where I was standing a moment before!  
"Hey! I'm looking for Connor! It's about Victini!"  
The Swampert huffed once, "What do you know about where Victini is?"  
I looked at him, and noticed his eyes seemed familiar, "Connor…?"  
The Swampert nodded as its arms shrunk, legs elongated, and turned into the human, clothing and all that stuff still on him. "Good; Didn't know if it was you… All the Sableye look alike for the most part…"

"Yeah, but I'm the only one that can mega evolve, so you'd think that would count for somethin'."  
He inclined his head slightly, "And why is that?"  
I went to respond, but the stupid Typhlosion blew another flamethrower at me. Connor blocked it with a barrier, and shouted, "Stop! I'm trying to talk to him, for Arceus' sake!"

I thanked him, and abruptly continued, "Well, you'll probably hear more of this term later, but I'm the Alpha Sableye…"

He looked confused at that term, "Alpha?"

I nodded, "Yea, it's where I'm the biggest, baddest Sableye out there, and I'm the only one that can mega evolve in this world. So, in a way, I'm the head honcho of the Sableye… They don't listen to me, because of the dark world making their minds all screwy, and delirus corrupting their thinking. You know, the voice that makes you doubt yourself and others? The sableye are being controlled like a hive mind, and their minds are too simple to know to fight it. They only listen to Master Dusknoir, General Gengar, or Lord Dialga. As an Alpha, I'm immune to the effects of delirus, and I escaped before Dialga had a huge brainwashing thing take over the Sableye. Anywho, most of the Alphas that can mega evolve are here, from what I've overheard about all of your megas and stuff… Of course, not every alpha can mega evolve; Only like 45 pokemon can, or somethin' like that..."

The human was still confused, "How come I've never heard that term before?"

I shrugged, "Beats me; You're the head of knowin' stuff around here, so I thought you'd know."

He shook his head, "Alpha pokemon… We have a lot of them?"

I nodded, "Alphas can sense other Alphas. Like that Sceptile… Basileus. He's an Alpha, but he doesn't know it yet… He's even got his mega stone… It's a beautiful gem… Same with that Tyranitar, Lucario, and..." I looked around, sensing the power emanating from the pokemon, "And Aggron. Those are only a few. I can feel a lot more."

He smiled, "So… We have the most powerful pokemon?"

I nodded, "Yeah… Somethin' like that."

He shook his head after a moment, "Never mind that. We need to get back on topic. And I need to work on a little project…" He guided me to the stairs leading to his living quarters, and even for a leader, it was pretty luxurious… He had tables and a bed, grass floors, balls of fire lighting up the place… It was kind of cozy, even for a lighted space. My eyes are sensitive to that sort of thing

He pulled out a big pile of metal, and a strange shield that was a pattern of red, white, and blue…

His hand had a small blue field of energy around it, and he grabbed the shield, and dunked it into a lava pool behind him. It glowed red-hot when he pulled it out, and he began breaking it apart into chunks.

He took the scraps of metal and began assembling them, and turned to me, but didn't take his eyes off of what he was doing, "So… What did you find out?"

I slid the blue paper that had the crossbow name on it towards him, "A lot. And none of it's good."

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_**Aaand chapter 6. Let me know how it's going so far with a Review or PM, and I will see you all in the next update. Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	7. The Assault Team

_**Aaay it's Chapter 7!**_

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**-Chapter 7: The Assault Team-**

**-Galvantula's POV-**

Connor called us to his room with his telepathy, and by us I mean Celebi, Grovyle, Tyranitar and I. We all walked up the stairs, or the wall, if you're me. I made my point by saying that walking up stairs is too mainstream.

We walked into his room, and he was talking to the sableye from earlier about something while working on a strange metal contraption thing. When he saw us, he smiled, but I could tell it was forced.

I decided to ask what he was working on, since I was pretty curious, "Whatcha workin' on, C?"

He quickly replied, "It's a gift to a friend…"

I examined it, and it looked like a humanoid thing a little bit, except short-ish. I decided not to push, secretly hoping it was for me, but I knew better. I'm not humanoid by any means.

He grew some seats for us to sit on, and he sighed, "We must move quickly, if what this Sableye told me is true…"

I made a crackling noise with the static electricity in my moustache thing, and said, "And what would the Sableye be sayin' this time, Connor?"

He frowned, "Victini is alive. However, his very essence is being devoured by a Spiritomb as we speak. So we must go soon, if we want to save him."

Grovyle spoke up, "So… Are you going?"

Connor nodded after turning a lever on the creation, "Yes. I must; I can't turn any of you invisible without being within a close proximity to your location."

I decided to interject, "Whoa, Connor, you said that that was their plan; To lure you into rescuing Victini! They'll have a trap ready, like a hundred golurk dogpiling on top of ya! If you get captured, we are royally f-"

He cut me off, which was probably a good thing now that I think about it, "No one has seen my true power... They have no clue how strong I am."

I raised my arms as I backed up on my other legs, "Alright, C. So, we need to move as soon as all of us are ready?"

Connor nodded, "Yes."

Celebi floated over my head, and I flinched slightly as she giggled, "Alright, Connor, what kind of fight are we in for?"

Connor smiled as he continued focusing on his contraption, "Just four Golurk and half a dozen Sableye, supposedly. Nothing we can't handle. Sableye, you're coming with us, to lead us in and out."

The sableye in the corner was looking at the different stones that Connor had collected, and he turned back, "Wait, what?"

Tyranitar walked forward slightly, "Um… Why exactly are we trusting him?"  
I saw Grovyle, of all the people, walked forward, "He is loyal to me. If there's one thing I know about Sableye, it's that they follow orders to the letter, and are particularly loyal to those they serve."

Tyranitar argued, "Well, he sure wasn't loyal to Gengar and Dusknoir. What makes you think that he won't switch sides with you?"

Grovyle hesitated, but stood his ground "Because he switched sides, right in front of Gengar and Dusknoir. If he's smart, and doesn't want to die, he'll stay on our side. Plus, he refused to answer to Connor, only answering to me. If that's not loyalty, then that was a very ballsy move, bluffing his way out of this whole situation he's supposedly set us up for."

Tyranitar looked at it, and murmured, "Grovyle… I wouldn't trust it."

Grovyle turned to him, "Alright, fine. You don't have to trust _him_; I will. If he does end up taking advantage of my trust, any of you have full permission to attack him. Until then, he is under my protection."

The Sableye looked nervous, as though we might beat the crap out of him. _Serves him right. His kind is responsible for almost all of the death happening in this world. _

I nodded, "Alright, G. So… What now? What's the game plan?"

Connor turned to me, setting the metal thing aside, "That would be my call, Galvantula."

I changed my voice to throw him off, "A'ight, so what's the stratagem?"

He turned to the Sableye, "Well, Grovyle and Celebi trust you, which amounts to something, I guess… You're going to lead us in. You know the ins and outs of this place, right?"

The Sableye nodded, "Of course. We can just take the front entrance, if you're invisible. I can lead you guys right to where he is."

"Good. Tyranitar, Grovyle and Basileus, you three will take on the Golurk. Galvantula and I will take care of the Sableye while Celebi works on freeing Victini. Sableye, you provide support where needed, and don't you dare run off while we're fighting."

The Sableye's crystalline eyes showed a surprising amount of emotion as he huffed, "Hey, give me a little bit of credit! I'm not going to bail on you guys now!"

Connor smiled, "I'm giving you an excellent amount of credit by not killing you because of what your kind has done to this world. So… Celebi, you can go up and free Victini; I don't know if the Spiritomb can fight while possessing another, but if he can, then Grovyle, I need you to protect her."

I looked at Grovyle, who nodded, and I decided to interject, "Y'know, this meeting is too serious."

Tyranitar looked at me, "Why's that?"

I continued, "It's so serious that I don't think I've made a joke this entire time!"

Celebi smiled slightly, "Save it for after we get him back, Galvantula."

I frowned slightly, but quickly smiled again, "Right! Well, let's go! I'm sick of being boring!"

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**_So, Chapter 7! Let me know how it's going with a quick Review or PM, it's so appreciated! If you have any OCs for the next installment, then let me know with a PM! I'll put the guidelines for OCs on my profile! Much Love! _**

**_-PL_**


	8. Preparation for a Temporal Assault

**Muahaha! Chapter 8!**

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**-Chapter 8: Preparation for a Temporal Assault-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

After Connor explained the gist of what was happening, he told us to go pack some stuff in our bags; Escape orbs in case something went wrong, a few berries to replenish our energy, and silver spikes; Deadly against dark types. I went back to my room, walking across the webs of platforms, and began packing. Every room got a kangaskhan rock from what I could tell, which was like a universal storage compartment for all of your stuff, although if this bag could hold unlimited stuff like Connor said, then I wouldn't even need to store anything…

I took everything out of my storage, which wasn't that much, and put it into my bag. I shouldered it, and sure enough, It didn't even feel like anything was in it. After I was done, I tried to lay down on my hammock, but since I nearly doubled in height after evolving, I couldn't lay on it properly. I sprawled out on my couch, and smiled, "This is so cool… I didn't want to be the one of the prophecy at first, but now that I know the full extent of what's going on…"  
I chuckled, and closed my eyes. I heard the swoosh of the vines at the doorway after a moment, and I opened my eyes as I heard Celebi's voice, "Are you packed?"  
I nodded, "Yup."  
"Sitrus berries? escape orbs? silver spikes?"  
I nodded, and jokingly replied, "Yes, mom."  
Her cheeks turned an even brighter pink, and she laughed slightly, "Just checking. I can't let anything happen to you- To any of us! You're the one of the prophecy, so I need to keep an eye on you especially!"

I smiled, "How come when you blush, you turn green sometimes, and other times you turn even more pink?"  
She turned green as she giggled nervously, "I… Don't know…?" She began floating backwards, smiling, "Um… I'll see you in Connor's place!" She reached backwards as she flew past the vines, and was gone.

I sighed, "I know that my heart calls for you… But I can't allow that kind of relationship to exist between us; When the future is changed, you will be left all alone… I can't let you suffer through that because of my selfishness."

**-Celebi's POV-**

_Stupid… Why can't I just say what I feel?! Why does he have to be so oblivious, even after I kissed his cheek earlier?!_

As I flew towards Connor's room, Grovyle kept coming into my mind… I couldn't get him out of my mind… His stature, looks, and even his eyes... No!

I shook my head, "You'd think with all the life-threatening stuff going on, boys would be the last thing on my mind…"

I fluttered through the doors of Connor's patio, and sat on a chair, waiting for the others. Connor had said to meet him here as soon as possible, so I wanted to make sure to get here quickly.

I looked around, and saw Basileus emerge from a side room. He looked at me, and I stood up. He chuckled, "Celebi, you don't need to stand up for me…"  
I sat back down, and he sat next to me. He dwarfed me, even while sitting down, and he looked down to me with his one good eye after a moment of awkward silence, "Why are you so enthusiastic about protecting my son?"  
In spite of my best efforts, just the mention of that stupid wood gecko made me blush.

Basileus smiled, "Hm. So it's not just because he's the one of the prophecy…"  
I shrugged, "No…"  
He looked down at me again, "No, what?"  
I stood up, "No, sir."

He smiled, "That's more like it. So, you view my son as potentially more than an acquaintance… I don't know how I feel about that."  
I was a bit surprised at that comment, "With all due respect, sir, why would you not be okay with it?"

He shook his head, "I didn't say that I don't approve; However, in my many years of experience, I have seen some of Grovyle's biggest flaws… He cares deeply for others, and will do anything to keep them out of harm's way. Even if you aren't anything more than friends, I know that you are a distraction to my son's judgement. Do not let him die because he was blinded by his infatuation for you, and vice versa."  
I blushed even more, this time pink; I seriously didn't know why my blushing was different colors…

He continued, "His weaknesses are also his greatest strengths. He is easily distracted by those he trusts… Dusclops, especially. He followed Dusclops until it killed him, literally, and still, he longs for Dusclops to come back, to be the pokemon he knew before they were taken in by Dialga. I fear that when the time comes for them to face off, and it will, Grovyle will be unable to do what needs to be done."

I was confused about why he was telling me all of this, so I asked.

His eye showed pain, and he looked into my eyes, "Celebi… You will influence him more than any other. He evolved because Connor deemed him ready. Connor feared that he would back out of completing the prophecy because of you, and not wanting you to be alone when he disappears… He cares for you deeply, and Connor knew that if he would do it in spite of his feelings, then he was ready."

I sort of zoned out after that comment, but I quickly came back to focusing when he continued.

Basileus smiled, "You are surprisingly oblivious… Literally everybody that talks to the both of you regularly has told you that he does feel that way."  
"You read my thoughts?"  
He laughed, "Oh, no. I can't do that. I was just reading your expression. It showed hope, surprise, and indecisiveness. And a little bit of longing… And I know a lot of things that happen concerning my son."

I flew into the air slightly, and frowned, "You can determine all of that from my expression?"

He smiled as he looked away, "Yes… Celebi, I hope that you know that I do approve of your interest in my son; I think that you would be a powerful role model. However, you mustn't let your fee-"  
I crossed my arms as I turned away, "Let your feelings interfere with your judgement, yeah, I know."

He began teasing me, "You're acting very immature right now."

I turned to face him, ready to have a snappy comeback, but he looked at me with anticipation, as if he knew that's what I'd do, so I stopped.

He laughed, "I know what it's like to be in love, Celebi. It's such an engrossing concept, that one pokemon chooses another as a mate, and spends their lives with them, if that is truly who they love. It only happens once, you know. A love like that. You should have seen Briar… She was beauty and wisdom in the form of a Pokemon… I miss her so dearly."

His eye teared up, and I couldn't help but ask, "What was she like when you met her?"  
He glared at me, his yellow glowing eye paralyzing me with a glance, and I knew in that moment what he was capable of, even in his half-blinded state, but he sighed as his paralyzing glare let up, "She was beautiful… The most beautiful Grovyle I had ever laid my eyes upon… When I met her… It was a beautiful day outside, the sun shining, filling me with energy…"  
I stopped him, "Wait, the world has been paralyzed for-"  
He nodded, "four hundred and some-odd years, I know. I'm old and experienced. Our cells do not age as rapidly, remember? We'll all live for many hundreds of years, as opposed to only a couple hundred if time flowed normally. Anywho, a few years before the whole world being paralyzed thing was when it happened. I was picking apples from apple woods on immanis; There were pidgey and pidove in the air, Combee gathering honey for the Vespiquen, it was beautiful. I was a fruit harvester; I gathered apples and sold them to the shops in treasure town. Nothing fancy, nor recognized by many.

I was walking across a small bridge, still a Grovyle, mind you, and I saw her. There was another Grovyle talking to her, a strange one, he was. He had some kind of armor on, ranting about something that I didn't catch. She told him her name, and he looked so shocked, I thought he'd seen a Haunter. I introduced myself, and he acted all weirded out, like he'd never seen another pokemon before. His plant controlling abilities were astounding… About as good as mine are now. He gave a brief demonstration, and then was gone; I never saw him again…

Beside the point; I introduced myself to Briar, giving her a few apples, because she couldn't buy any. She said that she wanted to be an explorer, but her parents didn't have the money to pay the entry fee to Wigglytuff's Guild. I was well enough off that I could provide her guild membership fee, and I said that I was in apple woods almost every day, so she could come ask me for apples and advice and stuff. She took the offer after much convincing, and we started dating after a long while. It wasn't quick, by any means. She didn't get any off days, but she often took missions in apple woods to see me.

She still did the missions she was assigned, whether it was apprehending an outlaw or giving a lost pokemon a berry; After she was done, she would come find me. We would watch the sunset while eating apples I picked in the trees; It was good times… Then, the whole world became paralyzed out of nowhere. Everything turned the dull grey color that it is now, and Dialga took over before we could even make it back to Treasure Town… When we got back, the entire village was torn down, ripped apart… Not one pokemon was left alive… Those that fled before things got too heated were imprisoned and tortured, or driven insane by delirus… The voice that appears in your head, causing you to doubt other pokemon and even yourself… Most pokemon that are alone, or even in small groups, were driven mad by it; That's why the wild pokemon in this world are so hostile. They are scared, driven mad by a voice that they can't stop. Connor shields the pokemon of the insurgo from it now, but before he rescued us, there was nothing but sadness and death everywhere… Briar and I were resistant to the effects of it, for reasons that I do not know. We fled with Lapras to the Hidden land, because she said something about us shaping the future… I think she meant Grovyle, and that he would restore the world… Anywho, you know the rest from there."

I nodded, and found tears falling down my face. I sniffled, in spite of my best efforts, and I smiled slightly, "That's so cute… You were actually romantic and stuff…"  
He chuckled, "What, you thought I was incapable of being caring and loving?"

I shook my head, "I don't know… You're so uptight and closed off normally… So it never occurred to me-" Then another thought formed in my head, "Why are you called Basileus, anyways?"

"Excuse me?"

"I would have thought you would be called Sceptile, since Grovyle's name is… Grovyle."

He smiled and chuckled slightly, "Oh, yes… The whole name thing doesn't make much sense, does it…? Some pokemon are called by their species' name, some are called names that mean other things, like my name means 'king' in Unown runes. Briar's name is a flower on Terra. It's really not for us to decide what our names are, although I think that Arceus created us to be distinct from the other Sceptile, so he gave us names that stood out."

"Alright… Say, shouldn't everybody be here by now?"

Basileus stood up as his eyes narrowed, "Yes… Let's go see if they are here."

* * *

_**Alright... Chapter 8 is here. Let me know how it is with a quick Review or PM, and once again, if you got OCs? PM Me. the template is on my profile. Thanks OnyxWhip for the OC team. I hope that I will see you all in the next update. Much Love.**_

_**-PL**_


	9. Mission: Victini's Rescue

**_Here is chapter 9! Enjoy!_**

* * *

**-Chapter 9: Mission: Victini's Rescue-**

**-Basileus' POV-**

_Briar, if only you could see the pokemon that Grovyle has become..._

He walked in next to Galvantula and Tyranitar, and Celebi flipped out, "Where were you guys? You took forever!"

Galvantula jokingly yelled back, "Oy! We only took 'bout ten minutes, tops! Although it's kinda hard to tell when time is still frozen 'n all that…"

He changed his accent again, and swayed his body from side to side in a sassy manner, "What am I sayin'? Get your time walkin' self over here, and say hi to G!"

Celebi's wings fluttered as if she was agitated, but she smiled as she hopped over to him, using her wings to lengthen the jumps.

She began talking to him, and I turned to Connor, who was sitting with his legs crossed, seeming to be in deep thought, eyes closed and floating in the air.

I couldn't sense emotions like he could, so I was in the dark about whatever he was feeling on the inside. Normally, he's not meditating at such an important time, like now, so I figured something was up.

I waited for him to finish, and when he touched his legs to the ground, he sighed and wiped his face. I was pretty sure I saw a tear, but I didn't know for sure. He probably got some bad omen or something.

He looked at me, and I took the invitation as I asked, "So… What is the plan to get Victini?"

Connor shook his head as he looked at the group gathered before him, talking and laughing, and gritted his teeth from what seemed to be indecisiveness, "I don't know… We need to get in, get Victini, get out, and get to the past…"

I felt an edge of doubt in his voice, and I asked, "Connor… What is there to doubt? These pokemon are some of the best fighters we have, and one of the best groups that I have seen in my life; You can get Victini-"

His eyes teared up slightly as he snapped back, "It's not that… I know we can get him back, it's just… I'm starting to think that... that maybe we don't need to change the future; We can live here… The pokemon here are happy, they get along, eat consistently, are safe… Why should we change that? Take that away from them?"

I didn't believe my ears; Connor, the founder of this whole thing, saying that we should just give up?! Not do anything?!

I scowled deeply, trying not to yell, "Listen here, Connor… I have been through a lot in my life, and most of the pokemon in here would agree with me; It's not about us. It never was about us… It's about those that live on after us. We don't want them living like the pokemon outside of the insurgo, because when it's all said and done, Arceus put you on this world, and gave you your incredible powers for a reason, no matter how you came to be in this world. I don't care if you are the most powerful being here; You will not lead these pokemon into a mindset of self-preservation like Dialga has to everyone else."

He nodded and wiped a tear from his right eye, "Yeah… I know. Sorry… About that… I just got a foresight that jacked my mental state up pretty bad… I'll get over it."

_A vision that bad? What could have possibly-_

Galvantula interrupted, his voice rising above the rest, and it sounded normal for once, so I figured he was completely serious, which for him, was almost never. "Alright, so what was the plan?"

Grovyle replied before Connor or I could, "Connor will turn us invisible, and we will sneak in, free Victini while making as little noise as possible, and use a draco pearl to get out."

Galvantula nodded, "Alright… Well, I could roll an electro ball to paralyze the Sableye in the room, making it easier for them to be taken down with less noise to alert any others in there."

Connor nodded, "Let's do that. Alright, so we have everybody? Basileus, Celebi, Grovyle, Tyranitar, Galvantula, Sableye and me… Alright, Join hands!"  
We all linked hands, I grabbed on to Connor and Grovyle's hands, while Grovyle held Celebi's hand, and then Galvantula's, and then Tyranitar's, and the Sableye held Connor's other hand after Connor threw down the Draco Diamond. I heard a sound like shattering glass before a blinding flash of light enveloped us, and I felt the warping effects take hold.

After I blinked the spots out of my eyes, I saw Temporal Tower in all of its glory. It was above the clouds at its pinnacle, and there were sableye all over the place… I'm surprised that we weren't spotted.

Galvantula used camouflage, spitting the cloak of invisible webbing over Tyranitar and himself, and Connor turned back to us, "Alright, Sableye, we're following you. Don't give us away, and don't run."

The Sableye nodded, "You got it." and Connor chanted, "_Vicissim ipse invisibilia,"_ and I watched as my hands turned invisible. We could all still see each other faintly, but those that weren't affected by the spell were unable to detect us at all. Or that's what Connor said.

We strode up to the entrance, and a Spiritomb stopped the Sableye, "Unit name?"  
Sableye responded without skipping a beat, "Mission 104: Assault Insurgo. Sole Survivor."  
I smiled, _Alright… This'll be easy._

Spiritomb grunted, and Sableye walked past. We all walked behind him, single file, through the crowds of Sableye that seemed to be walking around us rather than bumping into us, which was really convenient. Sableye began climbing the stairs, and we followed him up the giant steps. He turned and stopped at a room, and I heard Victini's voice: Help… Me…

_Phew… At least he's still alive…_

Sableye strode up to the Golurk, "Hey, Master Dusknoir was looking for you idiots. You were supposed to have all of the dishes cleaned in time for the next meal! You guys better move it!"  
One of the Golurk tried to argue, "But the prisoner-"  
Sableye cut him off, "Master Dusknoir has assigned me, as the alpha, to watch over him. Spiritomb will keep him from escaping, and no fool is dumb enough to sneak in here; We have the finest detection magic cast over the Tower, so any cloaking attempts would be revealed."

The Golurk hesitated, but growled, "Fine. Let's go…"

The four Golurk walked out of the chamber, almost stepping on Celebi, but she teleported out of the way. I wondered where Tyranitar and Galvantula were, since they weren't under the spell's influence, but I turned my attention back to our Sableye, who turned to the other Sableye, "What's up guys? Boring work, huh?"

One of the Sableye nodded, "Yeah… But we have to guard him in case that human decides to come after him."

Sableye sighed, "I feel ya. ...Y'know, I barely escaped out of that blasted insurgo cavern with my life."

The others turned to face him, obviously bored, "What was it like?"

Sableye glanced at us, and he made a small gesture to come and take them out while their backs were turned, and I acknowledged as Sableye kept talking.

I soon realized that Tyranitar was under the spell, because he threw off the camouflage web, but he was still invisible to the sableye as he did one tail swipe that sent them all crashing into the wall. The sableye flew through the air, and Connor used aura to slow their movement so they wouldn't make any noise while falling. I felt the invisibility incantation wear off, and Connor walked over to the cage, "Nice work, Sableye!"

The little pokemon smiled, "Glad to be of assistance!"

Connor began cutting through the cage, but he grunted after a moment, "Aura reinforced Draconian Iron. No way we're getting through that."

Galvantula smiled, "Wanna bet?" as he leapt onto the cage, "What's up Victini?"

Victini turned, "Galvantula…?"

He nodded, "The one and only! Did you see any more Galvantula while Dusknoir brought you here? I'd love to find me a pretty girl-" Connor cut him off, "So, can you open it?"

Galvantula smiled as he pulled a quill off of his back, "Of course I can. I can pick locks as easily as Connor can fly."

He stuck the quill into the lock that sealed the cage door, and began moving it around. I felt the ground rumble slightly, and I murmured as I looked back to the entrance to the chamber we were in, "Galvantula, hurry up…"

Galvantula hissed back, "I'm sorry, you want to pick the magical lock?"

Then, the four Golurk turned the corner, talking to each other. They saw us, and one shouted, "Hey! You're not supposed to be here!"

Galvantula smiled sarcastically as he was picking the lock, "Nooo way. We're not? I had no idea!"

The Sableye hissed, "Don't let them escape or hit any alarms!"

Connor smiled, "No problem…"

He sealed the entrance using an aura barrier while I leapt onto one, and stuck a seed bomb into the gap on its chest. I leapt off of it, landing on the ground, and its body exploded, making a loud blast sound while sending clay shards everywhere.

I cursed under my breath, "Crap… Probably should've used leaf blades…"

Galvantula replied while hanging upside down from the cage, "Ya think?!"

Connor frowned, "No pokemon can get in or out of here; I don't see the problem."

Grovyle crippled a Golurk with leaf blades, causing it to fall to its knees, and Celebi used psychic to impale it with the shards of the Golurk I blew up.

I murmured under my breath, "Two more…"

One of them tried to hit a button that I didn't notice, but Tyranitar went head-to-head with it, and used dragon tail to knock it back. Grovyle planted his hands into the ground, and vines erupted from the stone, entangling the Golurk, and held it down while Tyranitar used Dragon Pulse on its ceramic head.

It's eyes stopped glowing, and I turned to the last one. Celebi used magical leaf, and the leaves stuck out of its arm like needles. It roared, and tried to swing at her, but she seemed to teleport, and she appeared right in front of it. She used ancient power to grab a stone from the wall telepathically, and smash into its head, causing it to topple over. I used vines to catch it, and set it down gently. Connor turned to Galvantula, "For all that gloating, you're a lousy lockpicker!"

Galvantula snapped back, "Hey! This one is sealed with several different incantations of quarantining; I'm having to bypass all of them at once in order to get into here! It's hard, even for me!"

He continued rattling the quill, which began glowing with electricity, "Ha! Done!"

The cage door burst open, and Spiritomb's smoky form shot out like a cannonball, and snaked straight for Celebi.

Grovyle shouted, "Watch out!" But Celebi turned a split moment too late; Spiritomb enveloped her with its smoky body and she fell to the ground.

Grovyle ran over to help her, but Connor shouted, "Stay back! Spiritomb can possess any pokemon it wishes by touching them." Grovyle hesitated, and Connor held him back with another barrier, "Stay… Back…"

Grovyle looked at her, tears in his eyes, "Celebi…"

* * *

**I have a knack for Cliffhangers, Don't I? Oh, well. Will Celebi be alright, and will the team get out without dying? Find out this afternoon, or whenever you read the next chapter! Much Love!**

**-PL**


	10. Spiritomb's Downfall

_**Here we go... Chapter 10.**_

* * *

**-Chapter 10: Spiritomb's Downfall-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

Connor held me back from Celebi after she was possessed by Spiritomb, and I knew that I should stay back, but every fiber in my body said that I need to help her. Connor raised an aura barrier, and my dad backed him up, "Spiritomb might possess you… They are unpredictable… And short-fused, as Connor would probably say."

Celebi was curled into a ball on the ground, and Galvantula shouted, drawing our attention away from her for a moment, "Hey guys, Victini's still getting his soul sucked by the demon princess! How the heck can he possess two pokemon at once?"

Celebi's voice was looped over itself a hundred times, with different voices emanating at once, giving me major chills, "You call US a demon PRINCESS?!"

She floated up, launching energy balls at Galvantula, and then I saw shadows moving along the wall, "Connor…?"

Connor looked around, and his shoulders dropped, "Aw, Crap…"

Sableye began pouring from the walls like a wave, using shadow travelling to bypass any barriers that Connor put up, and Tyranitar growled, "Connor, put up a Barrier around you guys…"

Connor complied, placing barriers around all of us, including Celebi and Galvantula, and Tyranitar's eyes began glowing as he underwent a further evolution while he was enveloped in a purple sphere. He grew even taller, now being at least ten feet tall, and his chest plate expanded into four irregular stone growths, and his tail elongated and grew spikes on the end. His eyes glowed red, and he began glowing as he roared, "Outrage!"

Pure energy and heat pulsed from his chest, which glowed red as well, and he sprinted around the chamber, incinerating any Sableye that were within five feet of him into vapor. Not even ashes remained. He smashed those that resisted, and after outrage ended, Tyranitar looked dazed, like he got hit in the face. He toppled over, "Ugh… Confusion…"

The Sableye kept coming, and our Sableye was enveloped in that purple sphere, his chest crystal expanding. He ran around, smacking other Sableye with the oversized gem, and I began slashing at them as well, protecting Tyranitar, who kept trying to attack me because of the side effects of Outrage.

The Sableye seemed to be endless, and they weren't letting up...

_Gah! Need to get out of here!_

**-Connor's POV-**

Those stupid Sableye… I forgot about their ability to travel through walls… They began pouring in, and I had to work on snapping Tyranitar out of his confusion. That's one of the side effects of using outrage: It makes you confused, so that you attack everything, and sometimes yourself. Grovyle was holding up alright, Basileus was guarding Victini alongside Galvantula… Alright. Looking good… Now to deal with Celebi.

I watched Celebi, who was possessed by the Spiritomb, and she turned to Grovyle. She raised her arms, floating into the air, and began gathering light. I was familiar enough with grass types to know what followed; Complete darkness followed by a solar beam, one of the most powerful grass-type moves… I shouted, "Grovyle, watch out!"

Grovyle looked at Celebi, who shook her head for a moment, as if fighting against the Spiritomb's command, but her eyes glazed over again, and she launched the beam of light at him. It travelled so fast, there's no way Grovyle could dodge it… I couldn't even put up a barrier in time. Before I knew it, Basileus had jumped in front of Grovyle and used Protect. The Solarbeam hit the blue shield, and it cracked slightly, but held. Basileus stumbled slightly, and Celebi-spiritomb flew down, and began fighting hand to hand with him.

_Not smart, Spiritomb..._

Then I realized why he chose hand-to-hand… As soon as Basileus grabbed Celebi's arm in preparation for a counterattack, Spiritomb's smoky body took over Basileus. His eyes turned a dull yellow like a boiled egg yolk, fading from the crisp shade of yellow that they were before, and he turned to Grovyle, "You will perish, Grovyle…" And began fighting.

Celebi fell to the ground, seemingly broken from the Spiritomb's possession, and I picked her up in one arm to protect her.

I knew that Grovyle wouldn't be able to fight his dad, so I decided to interject. I threw up an aura bubble around Basileus, and he looked directly at me, not fazed. Basileus-spiritomb looked straight at me, and smiled, "Release me human, or else…"  
He sprouted a leaf blade, and raised it to his own neck, "Basileus dies…"  
Galvantula leapt from out of nowhere onto the aura bubble and pulled it apart, "Oh, no you don't!" He slipped into the hole he made and shocked Basileus/Spiritomb so hard that Spiritomb retreated back to Victini.

I released the aura bubble, and Galvantula wiped his hands together, "What would you do without me?"  
_How did he break through the aura barrier…?_

He smiled, "One of my abilities is infiltrator. I can bypass protect, detect, and aura barriers."

My thoughts trailed back to Galvantula's abilities that I knew of on Terra, and I knew that Infiltrate wasn't one of Galvantula's abilities, and it didn't allow a pokemon to bypass protect and detect... "No it's not… And that's not even how it works!"

He smiled, "It is in this world, buttercup. Deal with it."

He put his leaf hat on while he smirked slightly, and turned to the wave of Sableye as he glowed, "Check this out… Electric terrain!"

He began glowing in the dim light of the chamber, and ran forward as electricity pulsed from him, through the Sableye and into the walls, and the stone began crackling with electricity, and he nodded diligently, "Now no more stupid Sableye can get in here."

Grovyle seemed slightly annoyed with that, "Why didn't you do that in the first place!?"

Galvantula shrugged nonchalantly, "I wanted a little challenge."

I looked around and since there were no more sableye coming, I decided that I needed to do what I never wanted to do… Ever. "I have to send Spiritomb back to his odd keystone…"

I passed Celebi to Tyranitar as I walked over to Victini in spite of Celebi's protests, and I saw that he had a small purple aura around him, and I grabbed his hand. Immediately, Spiritomb's voice shattered my thoughts, "YOU do not banish US! WE will destroy YOU!"

I gathered my mind, and using the power of my aura, shouted back, "No! I hereby banish you to the odd keystone for your misdeeds! You will be banished there until a greater power releases you!"

Spiritomb's voice faded, "NO… We… Will NOT!"

He began being pulled into the little rock next to me, and he wailed, "No! We will not go back there! Please! Do not send US there!"

I shook my head, "You had your chance…"

Then, nothing.

Celebi's voice rang in my head after Spiritomb's possession ended, "Connor, you're smoking!"

Looking at my arms, I saw what she meant. My skin was bright red and steaming in the cold air, like a pot of boiling water with a light shining through it. I stood up, but stumbled and fell, drained of all my strength. Galvantula caught me, "I gotcha, mait. Don't you worry a bit." Basileus grabbed Victini, and I murmured, "Let's get back to Dragon Mountain."

As if on cue, six more Golurk pounded into the chamber, my aura barrier gone due to my lack of strength from banishing the Spiritomb.

I threw the Draco pearl onto the ground with the little strength I had, and grabbed the others' hands as we were transported back to the place we called home.

* * *

_**Alright, I know this one was kind of early, but I'm really busy this evening, so here you go. Once again, let me know how this chapter was with a quick review or PM, it really helps! And if you have any OC Ideas, the template is on my profile! I'm currently taking any combination of teams and single characters; PM me if you want to see your team in the third installment! Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	11. Slingshot to Immanis

**-Chapter 11: Slingshot to Immanis -**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

After we were transported back to Connor's dormitory, we all fell to the ground, and from what I could see, we were all fine…

Celebi looked as sassy as ever, Victini was laid down on a table to heal, I guess, my dad was talking to Connor, who also looked fine, Tyranitar and Galvantula were talking normally as well. I sighed with relief, "So, Connor… What's up with Victini?"

Connor smiled, "It's a rather cool thing; Watch this."

He set his hand on Victini, who began glowing with an orange light. The energy surged through Connor, and he used the energy to heal Victini, who sat bolt upright, "Whoa! Hey, guys!"  
Connor smiled, "See? He's fine."

I smiled in disbelief, "Just like that?"

He nodded as Victini flew around the room, "So… When are we going?"

Connor chuckled, "Give us a moment, Victini…"

He raised his arms, along with Celebi, and they said in sync, "Heal Bell!" And I heard giant church bells in my head, and all of my fatigue, as well as my injuries were healed. I looked around, and Tyranitar smiled, "Alright; Let's go."

Connor looked around, "You six are the best team any human could ask for… Basileus, I am afraid that you must stay here and protect the cavern while I am gone; Make sure that Zangoose and Seviper don't kill each other."

My dad tried to argue, "Connor, I would like to come wi-"

Connor shook his head, "No. You cannot… I am pushing my limits with just these five, and you are second in command. I need you here, should something happen."

My dad nodded, "I understand…"

Connor smiled, "It's alright, man. We will be spared this world of darkness soon enough."

Basileus nodded, "Well, get on with it then, before I decide to follow you."

Connor chanted some spell that I didn't quite hear, and we were transported to the outside of the cavern in the blink of an eye. Connor looked around, "Cool. I didn't know if that would work."  
We began the trek up the mountain again, and this time made sure not to disturb any scouting parties that might be lurking about. There wasn't much to see; After a few hundred feet, we got into the clouds, which was only possible because we were floating on an island thousands of feet in the air to begin with. That thought was still so weird to me...

We made it to the top without seeing any scouting parties, and it took half as long as expected. We arrived on the pinnacle, and all I saw was the carpet of clouds, with the occasional mountain poking through the poofy layer of condensed water that was frozen in time. But there was a shroud of darkness above the sky… Nothing like Temporal Tower's view… No stars. Just darkness.

Connor looked around the pitch-black sky, and closed his eyes. They snapped open after a brief moment, and he frowned, "Ugh… Dialga reinforced the Temporal Barrier; He must know what we're trying to do… Victini, I need you to give me all the power you can spare; If we hit that barrier and don't make it through, we're going to be frozen in time, and be unable to do anything for a loooong time. Then the rest of the Insurgo will be left to fend for themselves..."

Galvantula whistled, "Um, you sure about that? I know you're like, 'All powerful' and all that, but Victini's power? You sure you can handle all of that?"

He nodded, "Yes; I can dispel it as an energy beam if I feel an overload, so where to start? Let's Try Fogbound lake first…"

Victini grabbed his hand, and Connor began glowing orange and blue, like his aura was mixing with Victini's power… He chanted, grunting from the power coursing through him, "_onerariis nos ut continentum," _and as he knelt down, he rested his hands on the pinnacle of the mountain. A channel of light opened up and shot out into the distance, and he whispered, "Fogbound Lake…"  
I saw the image of a foggy plateau supported by a thin spire of stone, and Connor stood up, "Let's go…"  
He grabbed my hand, and we all connected hands as we stepped into the tunnel. As soon as we touched it, I felt like I was fired out of a cannon. The force of the air on my face made it feel like it was being peeled off, and I heard Galvantula shout next to me, "Thiiis iiiis amaaaaziiiing!"

I smiled, and a second later, I saw a translucent wall that was like an illusion, fading in and out of my vision. Connor shouted next to us, "Brace yourselves!" And we smashed into it with full force, moving faster than light itself. I heard a sound like glass shattering, and we were rocketed towards the ground below.

Connor raised his arms, "_ruinam nostram molliant!"_ and we slowed down slightly, changing trajectory as we were shot into a small pond. As we hit the water, it parted around us, but stayed in the air.

_Time must be frozen here… Great._

We walked out of the small pond, and Galvantula looked around, "Th' heck is this place?"

Connor pulled out his wonder map from his bag, "This is just south of Fogbound lake; We need to go through a foggy forest to get there."

Galvantula blinked with his six eyes, "Wait, will we be able to see?"

Connor shook his head, "Not very far… The pokemon here should be frozen in time, though; We shouldn't need to worry about wild pokemon attacks while we're here."

Galvantula smiled, "Alright, no stupid Sableye?"

Connor shook his head, smiling slightly, "No Sableye or Golurk. Even Gengar and Dusknoir can't bypass the Temporal barrier set up by Dialga, and even if he lowered it, time would stop for those on the hidden land; Dialga wouldn't risk doing that, for fear of being unable to reset the flow of temporal energy."

I looked into the ground, trying to comprehend what Connor was saying; It sounded simple enough, so I decided to say what I thought he meant, "Cool. So we can take our time here?"  
Tyranitar nodded, "Yeah. Sealing up the hole in the Temporal wall probably took a ton of Primal Dialga's Strength. He won't be bothering us for a little while."

That made more sense to me, and Galvantula smiled, "So, the forest can't be defogged? Even if we charge the water and air molecules responsible for causing fog with a negative three hundred and thirty-seven volt electric current, resulting in the dispersal of the hydrogen and Oxygen into a not-so-cloudy substance?"

Connor shook his head, "No… This fog is put there by a psychic force; We need to find the Drought Stone to lift it…"

We began walking, and we came to the foggy forest. Tyranitar made a whistling noise from the cavities on his chest, "That is some thick fog…"

Imagine a wall of clouds in front of you; The big poofy kind that block out the sun entirely. That's what the fog looked like. A white wall, frozen in time along with the rest of the world.

Connor reached his hand into it, and closed his eyes. He took two steps, and vanished into the mist.

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_**Alright. Let me know how it's going so far you people, and I will see you in the next update! Leave a quick review or PM to help me out! Much love!**_

_**-PL**_


	12. The Secret of Fogbound Lake

**-Chapter 12: The Secret of Fogbound Lake-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I looked into the wall of mist that was in front of me, and I decided to see how far it went; I leapt straight into the air, to see over the top of the wall of murky haze. I looked out while I leapt up, and I saw nothing but fog; It blocked out the trees and everything else. I landed, and Galvantula scuttled up to me, "Ya see anything?"

I shook my head, "Only fog; We aren't making it through there without Connor guiding us."  
Connor walked out of the fog right next to me, and I backed up slightly when I saw him. He laughed, "Alright, let's get going! We need to join hands so we don't lose each other; Navigation is horrible without aura vision."  
Galvantula joked, "Do any of your powers not involve aura?"  
Connor shook his head, "Nope. All of my power comes from within me. My teacher taught me well."

Galvantula smiled, "Well, I'll need to send kudos to Lucario then! He has done some excellent work!"

Connor's smile faded slightly, and he said, "Yeah… Lucario."

Celebi took hold of my hand, and Tyranitar smiled in a teasing manner as he kept looking forward. Galvantula took hold of my other hand, and after everybody was joined, we walked forward. After walking into the fog, I knew what it was like to be blind. I couldn't even see my arms through the misty wall. If we weren't holding on to each other, we would have gone in circles. Luckily, Connor guided us through the forest with little difficulty. Before we knew it, we came to a clearing that had slightly less thick fog. There were tents set up that looked like a club or something… The tents matched each other, and as we looked around and in them, we saw pokemon sleeping, frozen in time. There was a Croagunk, Chimecho, Sunflora… A Chatot… And others that I didn't recognize.

Connor frowned as if he remembered something, and Celebi voiced his expression, "Is something wrong…?"  
He shook his head, "No… It's just… They shouldn't have been here when time stopped…"

Galvantula looked through the tents, "Who's they?"  
Connor looked at the tents with a troubled look in his eyes, "These pokemon." He turned his head back to the woods rapidly, "We need to get out of this place..."  
Something clearly bothered him about the tents and the pokemon, and we kept moving. The fog was slightly lighter, so I could at least see a few feet ahead, but I still was almost running into trees every few feet. After stumbling, I heard Connor's voice call out, "That's it! It's here! It's here!"  
I ran to where I heard his voice, and tripped over a small red stone.  
_What is this…? _I picked it up, and I could see through the fog like it wasn't there.

_Alright, so the fog's gone? _I saw Connor in front of a huge statue, and he was inspecting some writing on it.

I looked at Tyranitar and Galvantula, but they were wandering around like they were blinded still.

_Guess it only affects me… _I turned back to Connor, and strode up to him. He smiled as he read the inscriptions, "I see! You place the Drought Stone in Groudon's heart! That lifts the fog!"

I read the unknown runes, making sure he read it right, and I turned to him, "Very well done! Good job, partner!"

He turned to me, "Partner?"

I nodded, making a mutual understanding between us, and I turned to the statue, "So… Is there a hole or something in the chest of the statue?"

Galvantula grabbed the drought stone from me, and I was blinded again. Galvantula must have been able to see while holding it as well, because he beamed, "Holy crap, I can see! Praise to the legendary trio that controls eyesight! Hold on, I got this…"

I heard him climb up the statue, and heard a stone sliding against the crystal. As soon as it stopped, Galvantula dropped down next to me, "Aaaaand it's done. Now what?"

As he said that, I felt warmth on my back as the entire area became slightly brighter. The clouds didn't move, but I felt a warmth like I did in my dream of the sun. The fog seemed to sink into the ground, and immediately I saw where the lake was. There were waterfalls all around us, suspended in the air, and there was a cave leading up the narrow spire that lead to the lake, I guess. I knew it was up there, because when Connor pulled out his wonder map, he pointed to the cave, "Fogbound lake is that way…"

We went into the gaping entrance, and walked through. There was extremely hot water, along with lava, and I was sweating in no time, which I had never experienced due to the cold of the world.

I panted, "Connor… We have to go all the way up there?"

He nodded, "Yeah… No turning back anyways."

I turned around, "What do you mean… Oh."

When I looked at where we came from, the cave had closed behind us silently. Connor murmured, "Mystery Dungeons. No escape until we reach the top… Or the bottom of it. Or get defeated. Or use an Escape Orb."

Galvantula replied rather hastily, "That's a lot of rules that I have never heard of. Why the heck are they suddenly an issue?"

Connor smiled, "It's because the entire Hidden land itself is a mystery dungeon, with a few located within it… Sub-dungeons. There shouldn't normally be a way to escape from it, but my power combined with Victini's buff special thing allowed us passage out of there."

Celebi nodded, "That makes sense…"

Tyranitar looked around nervously at the dull grey frozen pokemon, like magmar and kricketune, "This is weird, Connor… I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

Connor nodded, "Yes, I know… We need to find Uxie, though. And whatever you do, don't make eye contact with him. He'll erase memories of this place and all that was associated with it."

Galvantula replied, "Wait, I thought the lake trio consisted of only girls!"

Connor shook his head, "Although most would speculate that, Mesprit is the only female of the Trio."

Tyranitar walked through, making sure not to fall behind, and Connor stopped us suddenly. He gestured for us to be quiet as he walked up the stairs, and he closed his eyes as he swept the room using aura-detecting pulses that I felt run through me.

He opened his eyes, "Time is not frozen here… Be careful..."

I nodded, and walked forward. Immediately, I was sprayed with some mud from a hidden trap, and I stepped backwards, tripping over my leaf hair, and fell on my back I tried to get it out of my eyes, rubbing aggressively, and Connor used his aura to pull the mud from my eyes. I blinked the tears away, and he scowled, "Ugh… I said be careful."

Galvantula smiled, "Check it out, these holes blow steam out!" He stood next to one, and listened closely. It started rumbling, and he chuckled, "It's gonna blow!"

Then a little bit of steam poured from the hole. He laughed slightly, "This place is great."

Connor smiled, "Galvantula, we need to get to the-"

I heard shuffling movement, and before anybody could react, Connor was hit from behind with a shadow ball, knocking him out cold. Victini rushed over to him, and he was knocked out by an invisible force as well.

I extended my leaf blades, expecting Dusknoir's voice to echo around the chamber. I glanced around the dimly lit cave, extremely wary, but a voice that I didn't recognize filled my head, "You! Why are you here?!"

I looked around, but it seemed to be communicating with telepathy, "Who are you?!"

The voice, male, by the sound of it, shouted back, "You know fully well who I am, Grovyle, son of Basileus!"

I looked around the cave for any signs of movement, "There's got to be a mistake! I haven't even been here before!"

The voice hesitated, but quickly replied, "Do not lie to me! We were told that your capture would result in lasting peace! That YOU were the sole cause of the Planet's Paralysis!"

I shook my head in confusion, "Wait, I'm going to the past to save it! What the heck are you talking about?"

The voice wavered, "What do you mean…? You stole the time gears! Time has stopped, and you're to blame!"

Galvantula walked around the edge of the chamber, and pulsed electric waves from his body into the air. The voice shouted, "Quit trying to locate me, you insect!"

Galvantula didn't take to kindly to name-calling, mostly being called an insect or bug in a non-joking manner, so he visibly frowned, which I had never seen before, "Why don't you show yourself then?!"

The voice receded, and Galvantula was thrown into the wall by an invisible force. He hit the wall, cratering the stone, and fell to the floor. The voice boomed the loudest so far, "You do not command me!"

Galvantula tried to get up, but he was thrown into the ceiling this time, and landed on the floor again. He groaned, "Alright, I get it… Stop, please…"

Connor must have gotten hit hard by that shadow ball, because he was still out on the floor. I only noticed that he was down because normally the threat would be revealed by now, as ungrateful as that sounds. Tyranitar ran to Galvantula and shielded him using protect, shouting, "Don't touch him!"

The voice changed locations, now being on my left, "No matter... My quarrel is with Grovyle…"

* * *

**_Oh nuuu! Cliffhanger again! The next Chapter is going to be a good one for those of you that have read both stories... Anywho, leave a Quick Review if you enjoyed or see something that I should adjust, and PM me anything else! See you tomorrow, in the next update! Much Love!_**

**_-PL  
_**


	13. A Rather Revealing Encounter

**_Sorry for not posting yesterday. It was a hectic day, and I had a wedding to attend after Church, and I just didn't have time to post anything. I apologize, and hope that this chapter makes up for it; It's gon' be good!_**

* * *

**-Chapter 13: A Rather Revealing Encounter-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I didn't know what I did to make that voice I presumed belonged to Uxie so mad. I haven't even met him before! He said my full name, and my father's name… So he must know me somehow…

"What do you want, Uxie?"

I saw a shadow briefly on the wall, but it vanished before I could make it out, and the voice sounded surprised, "How do you know my name…?"

I looked around, "Because my friend told me that you're protecting a time gear. Is that true?"

After that sentence, the mysterious Uxie appeared in front of me. He floated in front of me, and was yellow and pale blue, with a red gem in his forehead. He had two tails and was only about a foot tall, tails and all. His eyes were closed, yet I could still feel his piercing gaze as he floated within a foot of my head.

Celebi floated up to him, "Hey, back off. He didn't do anything."

Uxie turned to her, eyes still closed, and smirked, "Celebi the time walker... this is none of your concern."

She floated between him and I, arms spread out, "When you mess with my friends, it becomes my concern. Especially when it comes to Grovyle..."

Uxie paused, and smiled as he laughed in a tone that made me nervous, "You… And him…" He seemed to be analyzing Celebi, and he continued, "He is important to you…"

Celebi lowered her arms slightly as she murmured something inaudibly, and Uxie continued, "You care so deeply for him that you would rather live a short, sorry life with him than disappear. You are so doubtful of his interest in you, you are trying to prove yourself to him right now by protecting him."

Celebi shook her head in defiance, "Stop."

_Wait, is what Uxie said true?_

Uxie smiled coldly, and continued, "I can sense that I am overloading your emotional capacity, rendering you unstable… For such a claim to alter your emotional state by that degree… I would have to say that you do desire more than just a friendship with him..."

Celebi shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks, and fell to the ground as they dripped off, "Stop! Please!"

Uxie nodded, and gently pushed Celebi aside with one of his tails after closing his eyes, and Celebi fluttered to the ground sobbing as he continued, not even pausing, "Grovyle… You are responsible for the planet's Paralysis. You traveled to the past and stole the time gears, resulting in this!"

I shook my head in spite of all the thoughts about Celebi running through my head, as I kept glancing at her, then at Uxie, "I was born into this dark world! There's no way I could have caused it!"

Uxie hesitated, but scowled in anger, "I will not be deceived again; Take this!"

His eyelids glowed, and I was lifted off of the ground and felt like I was being squeezed by a machamp. Then, I was thrown into the wall. I felt the sharp stones sink into my back, and Uxie slammed me into the ground using psychic. I couldn't move, and was helpless as he slung me around like a rag doll. Celebi's voice rang throughout the cavern, "STOP!"

I slowed down, and I saw Celebi's eyes begin to glow an eerie white, "You will harm him no further!"

I felt Celebi's psychic take hold of me, and pull me from Uxie's grip. She set me down, and Uxie was forced into the wall. Celebi used Vine whip to pin him down as she shouted, "You will not harm him… He is a good pokemon, and did not cause this world to be the way it is."

Uxie smiled nonchalantly, "Very well. See how well he does when the time comes for him to choose..." He vanished, and Celebi sunk to the ground like a stone, falling to her knees and weeping.

Connor groaned as he rolled over and sat up when he regained consciousness, "That was different…" He placed his hand on Victini, who was awoken in a brief moment.

I walked over to Celebi as I placed my hand on her shoulder, in spite of all the pain my muscles were in. I sat down next to her, and she didn't look up. I sighed, "Celebi… Listen, I-"

She turned to me, tears streaming from her eyes, "No, you listen! From the very beginning, I watched over you, I was there for you, and risked my life for you! Heck, I just saved your life again facing against a psychic type that can erase your memories with a glance! Losing your memories is worse than death itself!"

I leaned away slightly at her harsh tone, and asked kind of abruptly, even though I knew the answer, "Why do all of that then?"

She shouted, closing her eyes tightly, "Because I love you! Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I loved you! I did all of this for you!"

She opened her eyes, with pain that was evident, "And I don't even know if you feel that way about me, and it sucks because I don't want to be left alone again! That's all I've ever been familiar with! Everybody I have ever called family has left me or died, and I don't want to lose you too!"

I smiled warmly in spite of my many mixed feelings about this, and managed to say, "I love you too, Celebi… I won't leave you."

Another wave of tears appeared in her eyes, and I could feel her mood shift from dismay to relief, and she smiled weakly, "Really…?"

I extended my hand, "Really. I promise to never leave you…"

She took hold of my hand and looked into my eyes as she leaned forward rather quickly, and I swayed back instinctively, but she kept leaning, and she kissed me. I closed my eyes, and time seemed to stand even more still.

That moment seemed to last forever, but I knew that that wasn't true... She smiled as she floated back up, and Galvantula whistled, "Well, it's about time!"

Connor smiled, "Yeah… Let's not tell Basileus."

We all chuckled, and Tyranitar looked at the both of us, "I'm not sure where to go with that… So.., uh, good job!"

Connor clapped his hands once, "Well, we know that Uxie was here, and was guarding a time gear; Let's get out of here!"

Connor rolled an escape orb onto the ground, and we were all transported out of the dungeon.

* * *

_**Ugh... I'm not one for romance, but this just had to be done. After a long internal conflict, it lead to this. Let me know if it was well executed with a quick review or PM, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	14. The Metal Serpent of the Desert

**-Chapter 14: The Metal Serpent of the Desert-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

After we left that place, Connor healed all of us, and pulled out his wonder map, "Alright so the next closest one is in… Quicksand Desert. You ready to travel?"

I held my hand up, "Hold on, Connor… Uxie said that I have already been to the past, and stole the time gears… How is that possible, if I'm still here?"

He shrugged, "My knowledge of time-related paradoxes is very limited, but my best guess is that Dialga took another Grovyle from another timeline, brainwashed him, put the mark of dialga on him, then sent him to the past to pose as you, except fail at getting the time gears. It's quite genius, now that I said it out loud…"

Tyranitar shook his head in confusion, "So… Dialga sent a fake Grovyle to the past? Why?"

Celebi giggled, seeming to get over the emotional collapse she had just experienced, "To make it more difficult for us! If a Grovyle that looked like Grovyle was sent to the past to fake stealing the time gears, then the three lake guardians would be hostile towards Grovyle in this future, making it more difficult to find the locations, thus giving Dialga more time to come up with another backup plan in case we do make it to the past... Ingenious use of temporal control..."

Connor's frown re-appeared, "It still doesn't make any sense… Why were the Guild members at Fogbound Lake…?"

Celebi shrugged, stealing another glance at me, "That is where my knowledge reaches its peak. I don't know what Guild Members are, but I'm presuming that they were the pokemon in the tents at the base of foggy forest?"

I was at a loss for words… All this talk about time travelling didn't make any sense… Yet Connor and Celebi were talking about it as if it was the easiest thing ever...

Connor shrugged, "Yeah... Well, standing here won't help. We need to get moving…" He threw down another orb, without chanting anything, and it blew up into a big smokey cloud, and when the cloud cleared, we were standing on sand, in the middle of a desert for as far as the eye could see.

I looked around, and quickly became parched. I pulled an oran berry out of my bag and squeezed the juice into my mouth, and Celebi floated next to me. I could feel her emotions in my being, like we were connected somehow… I couldn't help but smile every time I saw her, as corny as that sounds. She was really good at masking her uneasiness, if she had any...

Connor looked around warily, and turned to each of us "Be wary of the Steelix here; They often ambush unsuspecting prey, so be on your guard."

We began walking, and almost as if he sensed something, which he probably did, Connor knelt down and signaled for us to be quiet as he placed his ear to the sand. He stood up and shouted, "Run!" He took off, followed by Tyranitar who was carrying Galvantula on his back like a backpack. Victini and Celebi were floating in the air, and I tried to run, but the sand slipped between my feet, and I couldn't get a good grip to jump from.

I heard rumbling around me, and suddenly six excadrill popped out of the ground in a circle that encompassed me. I extended vine whips from my wrists, and they bore back into the ground. I looked around, and noticed that Connor was far off, along with the others, except Celebi…

I began to walk towards them, smiling, "That's what you're scared of, Connor? A few Excadrill?"

Connor shook his head, and I felt a slightly stronger rumble as I was nearly knocked off of my feet. Before I could react, an enormous steel snake erupted from the dunes right beneath me, shooting straight into the air.

I balanced on its maw, which was as wide as Connor was tall, and watched it open beneath me. I leapt off as it tried to snap me up and used vine whip to wrap a vine around its opened mouth like a bridle.

It roared as it tried to dive back into the sand, but I pulled on the vine, and it stopped. I pat its head as I looked at the others, who were all shocked beyond words.

Galvantula smiled, "Um… I don't think we ordered a ride, but I'll take it!"

He leapt up, and Steelix growled, which was a sound that shook the very ground itself. This thing was intimidating. I pet its head, "Hey, it's alright… You don't need to worry about them. I'm your main concern." Connor and Tyranitar climbed onto it while Victini and Celebi floated above it. Connor pulled out his wonder map and pointed to the left slightly, "It's that way."

I leaned down to the steelix, "You heard him; That way."

The Steelix grumbled as it began snaking through the sand much faster than we were walking a few moments before. And I could feel in its muscles that it wasn't even trying.

We travelled with only the sound of the sand beneath us for some time until Connor abruptly said, "Hard left!"

I nodded and pulled on the reins in the direction that Connor pointed. Steelix groaned in protest, but it cooperated rather well. It turned without throwing us off, and Connor smiled, "You've really outdone yourself, Grovyle…"

I laughed, "Oh, please. Steelix here is the one that hasn't tried to throw us off. I haven't done anything."

Connor shrugged, "Alright. Good job, Steelix…"

The metal snake rumbled slightly, and Connor smiled, "You're welcome…"

I wanted to be able to tell what Steelix was thinking, so I asked Connor if he could give me telepathic capabilities.

Connor smiled confidently, "Give me a challenge," as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I didn't feel any different, but I could hear my thoughts, and channel them into a beam, almost. It's weird. I thought about talking to him, and I could understand what he was saying, even though he wasn't speaking or telecommunicating.

Connor tapped my shoulder soon afterwards, "We need to stop… I see the rock formations up ahead."

Steelix acknowledged, and slowed to a crawl before stopping. Connor leapt off, and

beckoned us to join him. Steelix whined slightly, and I asked Connor if we could keep him.

Connor shrugged, "Don't get too attached. Even with Victini's power boost, it's going to be nearly impossible to take him back with us."

I frowned slightly, and Steelix grunted through it's nostrils, exhaling a loud hiss of air, and I tossed it a sitrus berry from my bag. It chomped it down in one gulp, and smiled contently.

I could tell what it was thinking; Something along the lines of a 'thank you'.

I smiled, "Y'know, Connor… It's weird that just a few hours ago, Steelix was trying to eat me, and now he's like one of my friends…"  
Connor turned back to me, "There are some good pokemon outside of the Insurgo, you know."

I smiled as I scratched the big metal serpent's chin, and it laid on the ground, and began humming in a pleased tone. I waved for it to follow me, and it stayed close behind, like a pet. I thought that was pretty cool, and Connor knelt down rather abruptly and ran his hand through the sand.

He grunted, "Quicksand… This is the place. I can feel the Time Gear's energy… My Dimensional Scream can't activate with this loose of a material."

Steelix suddenly lurched forward, slithering past me, and into the Quicksand. I found myself tied to him with a vine whip, and I was dragged into the sand with him.

**-Connor's POV-**

When the Steelix dragged Grovyle under the sand, I used an incantation to track his life energy. Celebi freaked out, along with Tyranitar and Galvantula. Victini and I were the more calm of the two.

I shushed them, "Quiet! I need to focus…"

I closed my eyes, and followed the energy trail of Steelix. I smiled as I realized where it had taken Grovyle to.

I murmured, "Just as I thought…" And I said to the rest of the group a little louder, "We need to jump into the sand."

Victini hesitated, "Um… Headmaster? Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yes. This is where the underground lake is."

Galvantula shrugged, "No regrets!" As he jumped into the sand first. Tyranitar followed suit, and I jumped in behind him. Celebi clung to my sleeve along with Victini, and I took a deep breath as my head sunk under the sand.

* * *

_**Alright, sorry for the one chapter post yesterday... It was pretty hectic. I'll start two-a-days back up tomorrow. Same as always, leave a quick Review or PM if you enjoyed, leave any suggestions for me to take into the next story, and I will see you tomorrow! Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	15. Mesprit of the Underground Lake

**-Chapter 15: Mesprit of the Underground Lake-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

When I was pulled through the sand, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I was dragged down.

I didn't dare open my eyes, because sand would blind me if I opened them. It took all of my concentration to resist it. I could feel Steelix' rugged body slide through the ground, and after a moment, I felt like I was falling.

I hit the ground with a jolt, and my eyes flew open. Luckily, I wasn't in the sand, but I was on top of a pile of sand in a pitch black room. I used flash to illuminate the chamber, and I saw sandstone walls all around, with paintings of humans and pokemon living together.

I looked to the roof, and I saw sand above the cave. I mumbled, "Great… Underground…" I looked around further, trying not to dwell on the fact that I was trapped down here.

I saw humans in robes much like Connor's kneeling to Arceus, or how they depicted him; It was pretty accurate, and Arceus had given them some orb… There were unown runes below it describing what it was. It took me a minute to decipher, and I couldn't help reading it out loud, "The… Jewel of Life?"

I heard Steelix shaking the ground somewhere to my left, and I looked over. He was down a huge tunnel on my right, and looked back at me as he beckoned for me to follow him.

I began walking, but as I walked past the sand pile that I had fallen on, I saw a huge pokemon drop down in front of me. I flinched slightly, and had extended my leaf blades. When the pokemon got up, I sighed with relief, "Tyranitar… What the heck are you doing down here?"

He stood up, "Galvantula jumped into the sand after you… I had to follow. Why are you glowing?"

I smiled, "I'm using flash."

Tyranitar nodded and looked around, "What the heck is this place?"

I shrugged, "I don't know…"

I heard Galvantula's voice behind me, "Looks like a temple of some sort. The humans here, from what I can tell, betrayed Arceus, and he banished the entire temple to this world after killing them all…"

I turned, "That was unusually dark coming from you."

He smiled, "Eh, it's what I do. I can be serious when I want to; Too bad that I never want to be. Ha! Seriously, let's get out of here as soon as we find Mesprit. I don't like underground places. They give me the creeps."

I turned back around, _That's more like it. _

As I observed the chamber, I kept thinking about how much my mom would have loved this place… This sort of thing always intrigued her. She would probably stay down here for days trying to decipher the unknown runes.

My thoughts were interrupted when Connor fell along with Victini and Celebi. Connor stood up and looked around, "Well, this place wasn't here before…"

Tyranitar looked down at him, "You've been here before?!"

Connor shook his head, "Not exactly. This is my first time being here in real life…"

Galvantula, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Connor frowned, "It's nothing… Mesprit should be here."

He closed his eyes, scanning for any signs of life, I guess, and he shushed us. "We aren't alone…"

He opened his eyes as he looked along the walls, and then at steelix who was curled into a ball near the corner of the chamber, then along the roof.

Then, a voice echoed throughout the cavern, a female's voice, "You! Why have you come here?!"

If this pokemon was anything like the other one, then we were in for some more surprises. Connor called back, "Hey, we weren't looking for any trouble! We were checking to see if there were any time gears here, then we'll be on our-"

The voice interrupted, "The Time Gears?! What do you want with the time gears, human?!"

Connor looked around, trying to locate her, and he said, "Chill out, we're trying to find them so we can go to the past and- Oof!"

He saw hit by an invisible punch at point blank range, and the small pink and blue pokemon appeared. It looked a lot like uxie, with the red gem and two blue tails, but its head thing was a lot like Lucario's ear things, except pink. It floated over to him, "You went to the past! Along with that Grovyle! You stole the Time Gears! You're responsible for the planet's paralysis!"

Connor stood up with a slight grunt of pain and put up a barrier around himself, "Listen! When we went to the past and… Borrowed the time gears, we did so with the intention of placing them at the top of Temporal Tower! It was collapsing, and the only thing able to reverse the effects would be to place the five main time gears atop it!"

Mesprit disappeared, and shouted, "Lies! If you hadn't taken the time gears, then time would still be flowing! I will not be deceived again!"

Tyranitar foresaw an attack, and he shouted, "Get down!" As he laid on the ground next to me just as a shock wave shot right over our heads. I heard a shout of pain, and Galvantula was on the wall when it hit, and he was knocked off of it, landing on the ground with a loud thud.

When he landed, he shouted, "Pokemon down! I'm out!"

He threw down a vanish orb, and was made invisible. Mesprit re-appeared, and looked at me, "It is unfair that you have been allowed to live this long!"

She began charging another attack, and I closed my eyes, preparing for my fate. I heard a rumbling noise all around me, and opened my eyes. Steelix was encircling me, and Mesprit faltered, "What is this…?"

Steelix made a series of grumbles and sounds that I understood due to my telepathic powers, and Mesprit looked astonished, "You say he is a good pokemon…?" She looked at me, then at Steelix, "Very well, I will hear him out."

She flew up to me, and impatiently asked, "Why are you here? And tell me the truth…"

I nodded, "Alright, Connor and I-"

She turned to Connor at the mention of his name, and pinned him to the wall, "You and three others weakened me enough for him to take it!"

I shook my head in disagreement, "That's what I'm trying to say! We haven't met you before!"

She let Connor go, and turned to Steelix, "Is what he says true?"

Steelix made a rumbling noise and closed its eyes, and Mesprit sighed, "Fine, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Do not let me be wrong."

I smiled, "Thank you… Now, do you have a Time Gear here?"

She nodded, "I did… Before you… Borrowed it."

Connor nodded, "Wait, so is this Steelix yours?"

She stroked its head, and she smiled, "Not exactly… He moved down here after all of those mean Sableye and Golurk began hunting his kind, using their hide to make armor. There used to be dozens of his species in this desert alone; Now he is the only one left…"

I interrupted, "Wait, there are Sableye here?"

Mesprit nodded, anger in her eyes, "They are everywhere… In combination with the Golurk… Only the most powerful pokemon could withstand them… This Steelix was the most powerful one, unable to be captured. He is the Alpha of his species…"

Connor interjected, like something clicked in his mind, "I've heard that term before… What does it mean?"

Mesprit looked at him intriguingly, "You don't know…?" She sighed, "Every evolutionary line has an alpha, one that is bigger and more powerful than all of the others. Some are capable of a higher form of evolution, called mega evolution, according to the humans in concordia."

Connor nodded, "So… For every line, there is one alpha, which is the last one in the evolutionary chain of their species?"

Mesprit looked at him unwaveringly, "Yes, however, I don't see how-"

Connor looked in deep thought, then spoke, "Do you mind if we bring Steelix with us?"

Mesprit looked at the metal snake, and replied, "I don't see why not…"

Steelix attempted a smile, and Mesprit looked at me, "Take good care of him for me…"

I nodded, "Will do Mesprit."

Celebi flew up next to me, and Mesprit nodded solemnly, "Good luck..."

I hopped onto Steelix, followed by Tyranitar, and Galvantula appeared next to me, "What up people? My vanish orb just wore off; I hope you didn't forget about me!"

I couldn't help but smile as Steelix shot towards the roof of the cavern, and bore through the sand like it was water.

When we broke through the sand, I turned to Connor, "So… She recognizes you and me?"

He shrugged, "I don't have the foggiest idea of how she knows who I am… And now that I think about it… You're the last Grovyle in this world… Right? In the entire era of the Dark world… I wonder how Primal Dialga got another Grovyle... Even if it was from a different time, he would have had to take it from the world of light…"

"But then since time is flowing properly, he would revert back to normal, and then what?

He smiled, "I think that we just created a paradox."

"What's a Paradox?"

Steelix shifted slightly, and Connor sat down, "It's when there's something that could happen in the temporal web to completely alter everything, then the effect of that alteration loops around again, such as if you go back in time and meet your parents before they started being together, then you accidentally stopped them from marrying or something, and then you wouldn't be born… But then since you're not born, you couldn't have gone to the past to separate them, then you would be born, so which reality would become reality?"

_Holy crap… That is confusing…_

He leaned back on an aura chair, "So… If Dialga went back to the era of light, and was reverted to normal, then would he come back here, then be driven insane again? Or would the entire series of events be stopped by the Dialga in that time since he's not insane anymore?"

"You're giving me a headache…"

He laughed, "Yeah… Don't think about it too much. Up next is Crystal Crossing."

* * *

**_Alright, chapter 15! Hope you enjoyed! Leave a quick Review or PM if you enjoyed, and I will see you in the next chapter! Much Love!_**

**_-PL_**


	16. The Voice of Delirus

**-Chapter 16: The Voice of Delirus-**

**-Celebi's POV-**

After that rather self-revealing encounter with Uxie before, I was very wary of what this one could do; Ends up that she just let us go…

After my dear Grovyle had finished talking to him, Connor turned back to me as I leaned against a protrusion from Steelix' diamond-hard skin, "Mesprit was holding up surprisingly well against delirus. I'm surprised that she was able to understand us so well. And that she let us go so easily..."

I nodded, and looked around as we began to slow down. Connor turned back to Grovyle, and asked why we were stopping.

Grovyle replied, "Steelix needed a drink. He's stopping himself."

I looked down, and two Cacturne were fighting over the pool of water. Steelix growled as he came closer, and they backed away from him, letting him drink.

Steelix dunked its mouth into the pool, and began drinking until he was full. The pool was half drained, and Steelix rumbled slightly. I heard my dear Grovyle's voice, "Alright, let's go!" And I smiled.

I heard a voice in my head as I closed my eyes, "_You don't love him..."_

I used my telepathy, trying to keep my voice unheard, "Yes I do…"

I could hear the voice of delirus echo in my head, "_No… You just don't want to be alone. Soon enough, you will be left alone anyways… He knows that he will disappear when he goes through with this… He doesn't love you either; If he did, then he would stay with you instead of disappearing. The human has told him that you will not disappear, yet he continues onward."  
_I shook my head slightly, "Stop with those lies! He does care about me! He does! He vowed to change this world, and I did too!"

Delirus' tone showed amusement, "_You know that you are immune to time related incidences. He just makes you feel better about your miserable existence, and helps you forget that you will never be able to have a normal life. But when he disappears… You will be all alone again, to walk through the changed future without him. You will be broken, unable to love for the rest of your life after he rips your heart to pieces along with this future."_

My eyes welled with tears, "Stop it! He has to do this! It doesn't matter if I don't want it!"

Delirus' voice laughed, "_You don't want this… You just said it yourself… Why help him then? Knowing that he will disappear, yet still allowing yourself to be open to him… He will leave, you know. He will go to the past without you, and disappear, not even giving a second thought towards you…"_

I opened my eyes, bawling, tears streaking my face, "Connor… Make it stop…"

Connor turned to me, concern in his eyes as he placed his hand on my head. He frowned, "I was wondering how long you would resist..."

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

He placed his hand on my forehead, and said, "Back when Grovyle was a Treecko, and walked away to the auditorium, and you were being persuaded by it… I asked if you needed anything. You said no. I knew that Delirus was in your head; I was waiting for you to ask for help."

I smiled in realization, "Wow… You are a good human, Connor… Those are very hard to come by…"

He nodded, "Thanks, I guess…" His hand glowed, and he chanted something in an ancient language, not unown, and not footprint runes… Something more ancient.

He stopped and smiled, "There… Celebi, what was it saying, just out of curiosity?"

I frowned, but sighed as I realized that this human was only helping me… "It kept telling me that Grovyle…" I blinked tears out of my eyes as I continued, "It kept saying that he would leave and forget about me… It said that when he goes to the past, he won't give another thought towards me…"

I choked back a sob, "It said that he doesn't love me…"

Connor placed a hand on my shoulder, kneeling down, "Celebi, Grovyle does love you, as cliche as that sounds... Delirus exists to cause doubt in others, and even yourself… Don't let it persuade you…"

I nodded, wiping my eyes, "Mhm. Thank you…"

He hugged me in one of his arms as he smiled, "No problem, Celebi."

I listened for the voice, but it was gone. I smiled as I continued to look to the horizon.

I turned to Connor, and I asked, "How are you so flawless in every aspect? You seem to know everything, you're the ideal leader, you're unrivaled in power; You just seem… Almost inhuman."

He laughed slightly, "You think I'm perfect? Thanks for the compliment, but what you see me as is not who I am... I can cover up mistakes like nobody's business, but I have way more flaws than strong points."

I looked at him curiously, and he continued without moving his mouth, and I quickly realized it was telepathy, "Celebi… I trust you almost as much as Grovyle… In certain things. I hope that you will not judge me because of what I am about to tell you."

I frowned, "What is so important to you that the others can't hear?"

He looked around, and his voice echoed in my head, "It's about why the dark world is the way it is… I know that I was a human, reincarnated into this world, and up until recently I had no clue how I came to be in this world, exactly. It was like a dream, a memory that I could only remember glimpses of, so I reached out to Arceus a few moments before we began the second journey to Temporal Tower… That's why I was meditating, if you saw me... And he told me what had happened. Arceus told me… That Darkrai…"

He wavered, and I waited for him to continue, "Darkrai was the one that took me in originally, when I was supposed to be dead, and when Giratina let me be reincarnated, that whole thing. That was a dream, conjured up by him… So that I would think that Giratina let me live, so that I would think I was supposed to be here. He brought me out of death, to help him… He erased my memories of my past life, brainwashed me into thinking I was serving him… And I did… I was the one that helped him destroy Temporal Tower, way back when. I knew what I was doing; Darkrai was like my dad… He promised me that the world would be beautiful without Dialga ruling over time… A world where time stood still… It sounded perfect, where we could all live forever, become immortal, like Arceus, to never be forgotten. Darkrai gave me this robe…"

He grabbed the cloak that he was always wearing, and a tear fell down his face as he continued, "When he took me in… I lived with him, and he taught me how to control dark energy, and mentored me on how to channel my spirit into power and spells… He had a massive collection of scrolls that had aura-based spells and incantations… Darkrai couldn't use any of them, because of his typing, and that's why he used me… He granted me power like none other… To combat Dialga while he attacked Temporal Tower. He taught me how to shadow travel, how to transform like a Ditto… Everything that I can do now, Darkrai taught me originally."

I looked at him, and face was streaked with tears, but his voice continued, "We made it to the hidden land, hypnotizing lapras into ferrying us there, and we charged through the hidden land, straight towards temporal tower… Dialga met us halfway, stopping us, questioning why we were here. I knocked him aside by going aura titan, and Darkrai flew past him.

Dialga told me of what would happen… He said that the world would be thrown into chaos with voices that drive pokemon mad… He warned of all the death that would come if we went through with it, and I asked Darkrai, "Is it true…? That lots of Pokemon will die?"

He nodded, "Only the weak will perish, Connor… But we will be Deities! We will be equal to Arceus!"

I don't remember much after that, except that Lapras ferried another pokemon in, and I think we fought for a little bit... but somehow I was able to wash away the haze that Darkrai had put over my mind… He made it seem like what we were doing was harmless, but when my memories were made clear, I realized that we killed many innocent pokemon while trying to get to the hidden land… Torturing them to get answers, and I was too blinded to see it. I refused to continue aiding him, so he cast me out. He left me to rot in the hidden land, stripped of my power, so I was just a human again, amongst all of the pokemon that I had attacked in my blindness."

"I used my little remaining power to send the stone fragment to a random place and time in the trans-dimensional temporal web. I sent it, in hopes that someday a good pokemon would find it, and stop Darkrai where I failed. Darkrai went on in spite of all of this, and collapsed the tower. Dialga was driven mad by the loss of his home, which also channeled his power, keeping it from driving him mad. Without it, he became Primal Dialga… I thought he was completely driven insane, incapable of intelligent thinking, but I was wrong. He is still very intelligent, and is capable of advanced thinking, but on the downside, he only focuses on self-preservation, stopping any attempts to correct the flow of time."

He looked up and forced a weak smile, "But you already know all that stuff. Before I watched the world plunge into darkness, regular Dialga sent me here, to the future that Darkrai created, stripped of my memories, and my past life, so that I would eventually return, and conquer the darkness. I got them back from some rainbow dream thing after living here for a few months, but it was the only way for me to stay alive; Darkrai would have killed me. Even the Lord of Time is limited to what he can do. Darkrai is still very much alive, Celebi… He is the true ruler of this land. The Sableye are controlled by him, hypnotized against their will… Dialga has stricken fear into their minds, but Darkrai could turn them against Dialga in a second… I met Lucario by sheer luck some time afterwards, and he helped me remaster my aura abilities, and bring them to an even higher level of power than I had achieved under Darkrai."  
I decided to interject, "Wait... So you weren't from this timeline originally?"

He shook his head, "No, I am from this timeline in all of its entirety. My entire being was sent here by Dialga. I will disappear, just like all of the pokemon…"

I frowned, "But I won't…"

He tilted his head, "Why not? You are tethered to this time as well, correct?"

I shook my head, "Well, yes… But I can simply travel to another timeline while this one is vanishing, and then I come back."

He smiled, "That's not how it works… You're tethered to this timeline, so no matter where you time travel off to, you will disappear, same as me. You can't avoid this."

I thought about what the voice had said, "But delirus said that I'm immune to all time-related incidences…"

Connor placed a hand on me, his telepathic voice piercing my thoughts, "Delirus lies. That is all he does. He brews all of the negative thoughts and emotions and amplifies them, and contorts the truth into a lie. And more often than not, the ones he takes control of will fall eventually."

I frowned, "So… I will disappear as well?"

He nodded with a strange glint in his eyes, "Yes. You won't be alone again, Celebi."

I gave him a huge tackle hug around his neck, "Oh, thank you…" Tears of joy, then realization began pouring from my eyes, "I won't have to be alone any more… Thank you…"

He placed a hand on my back, "You can stop squeezing my neck now…"

I flew backwards, smiling innocently, "Sorry…"

He simply turned and looked ahead, "It's alright… I hope that you won't judge me for causing the world to be the way it is…"

I smiled, "I don't care about any of that stuff! Everything was already planned out before time existed. Time is complicated, and all events work themselves out, through good times and bad times. We're in a low point, so it can only get better from here! You may have been twisted before, but that wasn't you. You're a good human. The best I have seen. I think that the rest of us would agree, you're not who you used to be."

He sighed, and a fresh wave of tears formed around the edges of his eyes, "Thank you… I'll tell Grovyle before we go to the past…"

I nodded, "Don't forget. I'll remind you."

He smiled, "Thank you again… From the bottom of my heart."

Grovyle called back, "Hey Connor, there's a forest coming up ahead…"

He stood up abruptly, and said, "Steelix, get low to the ground…"

Steelix complied, and got so low to the ground that only his head was sticking above the soil. Connor looked to the treeline nervously, and said with a stern voice, "Go around. Far around."

* * *

_**So... After yet another revealing chapter... Let me know how it went with a quick Review or PM, and I will see you in the next chapter!**_

_** And much thanks to DeoxysSpeed, Kurashi, and Yamato for the support, it is appreciated more than I can say in words. Much Love! **_

_**-PL**_


	17. Azelf of the Crystal Cave

**-Chapter 17: Azelf of the Crystal Cave-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I sat on the front of Steelix' head, and had the reins over him. When Connor said to go around, I heard a hint of nervousness, so I figured that if he was nervous, then I'd better listen.

I pulled the reins to the right, and Steelix turned. Connor walked up next to me and sat down on an aura chair. He smiled slightly, masking his emotions with a slight smile as he pulled out a wonder map, "So… Directly past this forest is Crystal Cavern, where the lake is. If Azelf is there, which I'm pretty sure that he is, then we're good, and can head back to the hidden land to begin our journey to the past…"

_There's something he's not telling me… I'll let it slide for now..._

Instead of pressing, I smiled, "Finally! All of this questing is fun and all, but I'm ready to get to the past."

He nodded, "Yes, but we need to find out the color of his spirit in order to reach the cave... There is a crystal puzzle there that requires us to match the crystals to the color of his spirit…"

I thought about it, peeling away from the curiosity of what Connor and Celebi had been talking about, and it made me more anxious, "How are we supposed to know what the color of a pokemon's soul is?"

Connor tapped his map, "It says that the lake is a reflection of Azelf's spirit in sinnohan mythology, and the color of water is depicted as blue, right? So blue is a reflection of his spirit, so the color of the crystals needs to be blue! That's my deductive reasoning, anyways… It says that Azelf is the being of willpower, so he'll probably be the most sane, which could work in our favor… Or against us. Willpower is what enables us to go on when we can't. It makes many pokemon act as one; The insurgo is a good example of willpower… Without it, we would all be at each other's throats all the time."

Steelix made a grumbling noise, and I tossed it a sitrus berry. It swallowed the rather large berry, and I smiled as I thought about what I was doing. _I'm riding a Steelix around immanis… This is pretty cool._

Galvantula was hanging on Tyranitar's back like a backpack, and Celebi was leaned against Connor, who was studying the map. Those two seemed to have had a good conversation through telepathy, because I could feel Connor using it. I couldn't hear it, per say, but I could tell he was using it somehow.

We rode in a cozy kind of silence that was only broken by Steelix occasionally hissing through its nostrils as it glided through the earth so smooth that it felt like we were sitting on a still object.

It continued like that for a while, maybe thirty minutes before Connor pointed to a plateau that we were riding past, "There. Stop."

Steelix slowed down and laid against the cliffside, and we all hopped off of him. I tossed him an oran berry, "Stay. Until we get back."

It shook its head following a series of grunts and growls, and I shook my head in return, "We won't need any rescuing this time around…"

He coiled up and closed his eyes as he laid on the ground. I smiled, "Good…"

Galvantula was at the cave entrance by that time, and called back to us, "Hey, you comin' or what?"

Connor nodded, "Hold on… Galvantula, can you use camouflage on Steelix?"

Galvantula nodded, "Of course. My camo supply is endless, my liege!"

He spit up a cloak, and we all threw it over Steelix. I pet its snout, "Alright, don't move until we get back, alright?"

It nodded, and the web draped over him, causing him to vanish.

I felt, and he was there, but even this close, I couldn't see him, so any sableye or Golurk would overlook him. I thought about it, and noticed that we hadn't seen any… Mesprit was taken over by the delirus, so maybe she was lying about that, but it didn't feel right, I felt like we should have seen something by now.

Connor beckoned me to his side, and he smiled, "Don't worry, Grovyle. We're almost done."

I smiled in spite of all of the things that I had swirling through my mind… Celebi, the Time Gears, what would happen when we got to the past, and how. I didn't quite get the whole concept of time travelling. From what I did get, though, Celebi would put us in the passage of time, and we would be shot back four-hundred some-odd years into the past. But how would she aim the temporal tunnel to that exact day?

I shook my head, "I just need to focus on what's happening now…"

And with that, we walked into the crystal-lined cave.

**-Connor's POV-**

As we began walking into the cave, I looked around at the grey crystals. It made me sad, thinking that all of this used to be a beautiful shade of blue and white and whatever colors the crystals used to be.

We walked across entire bridges made of the diamond-like stuff, and gazed at the numerous ponds in the cave that were frozen in time. There were razor-sharp crystals at the bottom, and big gemstones jutted out of the walls, along with a few spikes that were four or five feet long. Celebi floated next to Grovyle, and Victini next to me. I heard the entrance seal behind us; One of the trademarks of mystery dungeons...

Galvantula whistled, "Well, this place is breathtaking, even if it is all dull and grey. The razor-sharp crystals weren't the kind I was expecting…"

I laughed and turned my head to look at him, the chuckle echoing throughout the crystal cavern for a long time before dissipating, "Yeah; We can't let our guard down…"

As I said that, I turned and my forehead and was almost impaled by a crystal spike protruding from the wall. I leaned backwards rapidly in my attempt to dodge it, and Tyranitar caught me mid-fall. He mocked as he helped me up, "We can't let our guard down, huh?"

I pushed him slightly, and jokingly replied, "Shut up. It appeared out of nowhere."

The stone giant looked around, "So… How long until we reach the bottom?"

I shrugged, "Heck if I know. Mystery dungeons are randomly made every time somebody enters."

I looked around the snaking corridors, and found a set of stairs leading down to the next floor.

I jogged over, "This takes us down a level… Come on!"

The group followed me, their footsteps echoing around the cavern, and I looked around at the next level of crystal crossing...

We didn't see any pokemon around, so I figured that they left as soon as time started going all whacko.

As we reached the bottom, I found a cavern with a domed roof that had lights that seemed to be coming from the walls themselves, and I saw something that shocked me beyond words… The puzzle had already been solved. There were three crystals forming a triangle in the center of the room that looked like pillars, like ten feet tall and four feet in diameter. They were a bright shade of blue, as opposed to the rest of the cavern's grey coloration, and a giant arch of crystals was in the center of the three gems that lead down further.

Galvantula walked up beside me, "I told you I don't like underground places, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah… I don't like it either… I sense an malevolent energy down there… Be on your guard…"

Celebi fluttered up to me, and asked, "So… Why was the puzzle already solved?"

I shrugged, "My guess is that some pokemon realized what was happening, and went to find the time gears, and the puzzle didn't reset before time froze..."

Grovyle smiled, "Well, that simplifies things."

I frowned, "Or, somebody could have gotten here before us to set an ambush…I'm hoping for the first one, but we must stay alert."

Victini used will-o-wisp to light the way down, because the crystals didn't glow like they did near the entrance.

We began walking, and didn't even come to the second level before it happened; Grovyle was hit with a shadow ball that launched him into the wall, and Celebi was pinned to the opposite wall with a psychic force. I raised an aura barrier around Galvantula, Tyranitar, Victini and I, and I saw a shadow retreating into the darkness. I turned to Victini, "Get him! Don't let him escape!"

Victini smirked, "Finally, a little race!" He shot off down the corridor after I lowered a portion of the barrier, leaving a flaming trail in his wake. He caught the pokemon rather quickly, and it re-appeared suddenly as it shouted with telepathy, sounding completely crestfallen, "Stop! I have the time gear! It's no use, though; Time stands still!"  
Victini kept holding him down, and I got a good look at him. He looked a lot like mesprit and Uxie, except blue all over; Same tails, red gem in the forehead…

"Hello, Azelf…"

He looked at me with such fear, I felt kind of bad even though I hadn't met him before, even in my past life with Darkrai, and he shouted, "Leave me alone! I already told you I have the Time Gear!"

I nodded with the guilt of seeing what I had done, "Alright… I believe you. Release him, Victini."

Victini fluttered off of Azelf, and he just sat there crying. I looked around the crystalline chamber for any exits, because I forgot to pack enough escape orbs, like an idiot.

While I was doing that, I overheard Azelf shouting at Grovyle, "Leave! You've done enough!"

I turned back, and Grovyle threw his hands into the air in exasperation, "All three of you have said that! Why do you all hate me so much?!"

Azelf pointed to him, and murmured, "You… Are responsible for this! You stole the Time Gears!"

Then he looked at his own hand, and whispered, "But we put them back, just like Dusknoir told us to… He said that time would return to normal…" His voice got louder, "But he lied! It only got worse!"

Grovyle knelt down in one swift motion, "Wait, what about Dusknoir?"

Azelf wailed, "I don't know! Just restore this future! Don't believe the lies that he tries to tell you! Don't believe the one-eyed ghost..."

Grovyle nodded, tears in his eyes, "Alright… Well, we need to get going…"

He stood up, but Azelf yanked his arm slightly, "Wait!"

Grovyle sighed, but knelt back down, "Yes?"

Azelf sniffled, "Will you change this future of darkness?"

I saw him nod slightly, "I will."

Azelf looked at him with solemn eyes, "You promise?"

Grovyle hesitated, but he shook it off quickly, and I saw the passionate fire reignite in his eyes, "Yes. I promise… I will die before I give up."

I nodded, smiling, and called them over, "Alright, guys… We need to go all the way to the bottom of the dungeon to get out, because I didn't pack enough escape orbs."

Tyranitar looked around at the walls, and down the many corridors, "Say, Azelf… How do we get out of here?"

Azelf sniffled, "I'll let you go…"

He blinked, and we were suddenly outside the crystal cave.

I couldn't help but tear up at seeing how much pain I had caused all of the pokemon… Even though it was the old me, I still felt guilty… Especially now that Celebi knew everything...

Grovyle looked up at me, "Something wrong, Connor?"

_Not yet… He isn't ready to hear it…_

"I just didn't know how much pain these pokemon were in…"

He smiled, "Well, we're going to fix that!"

I laughed, "Yeah… We are."

He frowned again, "But… Dusknoir… Azelf said that he tricked the pokemon of the past… How is that possible?"  
A small smile crept onto my face, "It's weird, how all of this works… I don't claim to know, nor will I understand, but I do know that Dialga needs the passage of time to travel back that far. But he shouldn't know where it is…"

Grovyle nodded, "Alright… Well, let's go.

* * *

_**Alright, I have an announcement. Please refrain from using profanity in the Reviews or PMs, because the filter isn't working for me, and I am trying to keep my works profanity free, including any reviews for my stories.**_

_**Anywho, hope you enjoyed! Leave a Review or PM if you have any comments, and I will see you in the next chapter! Much love! **_

**_-PL_**


	18. Boulder Quarry and the Dimensional S-

**-Chapter 18: Boulder Quarry and the Dimensional Scream-**

**-Connor's POV-**

After Grovyle said that we were going to change the future, he went into his own little think mode. He looked down, murmuring something, and Celebi floated up to him after a long while. He didn't look up, so she stroked his cheek affectionately, "My dear Grovyle… What is troubling you?"

He looked away, "I don't know, Celebi… I think it's what Azelf said… About Dusknoir…"

She pursed her lips slightly, but she put on a smile that I could tell was forced, for him, "Well, whatever is troubling you, I will be there for you… Even in the world of light…"

He smiled, "Thanks, Celebi…"

She twirled in the air as she glowed slightly, "The honor is mine, my dear Grovyle!"

Galvantula climbed onto Steelix and called down to me, "Yo, C! That's only three time gears! What about the other two?"

I pulled out my map while trying not to focus on Grovyle and Celebi, "I already know where they are; Although I need to make sure of the one in limestone cavern."

Grovyle tossed a silver gummi to Steelix, and Steelix perked up slightly at the energy boost that it gave him. Grovyle hopped up onto Steelix and signaled for us to climb on.

Steelix laid down while we got situated, and I kept trying to decide when to tell Grovyle… We couldn't go to the past unless he knew about Darkrai, and me… I shook the thoughts out of my head, and replied, "Boulder quarry is in the far east portion of immanis. It'll take a while to get there, even with Steelix taking us."

Galvantula spoke rather quietly, "Wait, I thought you already know it's there?"

I nodded, "Yes… I need to know where it is in the dungeon, though."

Tyranitar nodded, "That's a good plan; We can't afford to waste any time in the past because we were being lazy here."

I smiled, "Now you're thinking like me…"

Victini chuckled, "That could be good or bad; You walk the line between genius and Idiot quite often."

The rest of the group suppressed their smiles, and I laughed slightly, "Shut up, Victini..."

I pulled out my wonder map, and called up to Grovyle who was sitting on Steelix' skull, guiding him, "Hey, Grovyle!"

He turned slightly, but still kept his eyes on his surroundings, "Boulder quarry is just past southern jungle; We have to go through it in order to get there. Can steelix go through a jungle?"

Grovyle leaned down and asked Steelix, and its expression signaled that it was done with whatever Grovyle was saying.

Grovyle pet its head, "I'll give you a dozen sitrus berries; How about then?"

Steelix rumbled slightly, and Grovyle smiled, "That's more like it…"

He turned to me, "Steelix says that he can, but he doesn't like vegetated areas. They take all the nutrients from the soil and make it tough to dig through. He will, though."

I smiled, "Good, because we've got a ways to go."

Grovyle turned back around, and I closed my eyes, trying to get some sleep on the back of the steel serpent.

I actually managed to doze off for a little while before Grovyle shook me awake. I stood up, and looked at the treeline in front of us, "This is it. Let's go."

Steelix leaned back and charged straight into the forest, bulldozing trees down in front of him, and the crashing noise made my ears hurt.

Galvantula shouted to Grovyle, "Yo, is he trying to get us noticed from miles away?"

I heard Celebi murmur something about the forest, like she was trying to stay calm, then I remembered what she was…

I tapped Grovyle's shoulder, "Hey, Grovyle, you think Steelix could not knock so many trees over? Your girlfriend is about to flip out. Y'know, because of the whole guardian of the forest thing."

Grovyle nodded, and Steelix slowed to a crawl, and wove between the trees almost silently. I turned to Celebi, and she mouthed the words 'thank you' and smiled. I gave a thumbs up sign, and sat back down.

It was slow progress, but eventually we came to a giant quarry with stones the size of houses floating in a valley.

I leapt off of Steelix, and picked up a stone, hoping to activate my Dimensional Scream, and waited. Then, the symptoms of it started. My vision faded in and out, and I heard a high pitched sword coming out of its sheath, like a *Shiiinngg!* And I saw three pokemon, a Lopunny, Gardevoir and Medicham exploring down in a cave… They were stopped by a Ditto, and it took them to a secret cavern behind a waterfall. There it was… A time gear. Another team, consisting of a Weavile, Arbok and Drapion began walking away with disappointed looks on their faces, and the vision was over.

Apparently I had fallen over during the vision, because Tyranitar was holding me like I was a baby, cradling me. I leapt out of his arms and stood up, "It was here. We can head back…"

I reached into my robe for the Draco pearl, but it wasn't in my robe. "Aw, crap…"

Grovyle took a Draco Pearl out of his wonder bag, and held it up, "We can just use this, right?"

I smiled, "You pickpocketed me?"

He handed me the pearl as he shrugged, "Maybe."

I laughed, "Wow… How did I not see that?"

We all joined hands, including Steelix; Grovyle held on to him with vine whip.

I threw the pearl to the ground, and we were whisked away back to Dragon mountain, on the opposite side of the world.

* * *

**_What up guys? One chapter for today; School's pretty hectic again. Also, starting next Thursday, I will be in Colorado for a week, so no new chapters. Let me know how this one went with a quick review or PM, and I will see you in the next update!_**

**_-PL_**


	19. Grovyle Vs Galvantula

**-Chapter 19: Grovyle vs. Galvantula-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

After the light cleared, I felt like I was being crushed. I opened my eyes, and Steelix was taking up the whole space, squishing us all against the wall. Connor opened the giant stone doors, and Steelix slithered out into the cavern. The insurgo were freaking out, so I leapt down in order to help them stay calm.

Steelix had curled into a ball, apparently not knowing what to do with all these new pokemon, and I shouted, "Stay calm! He is with us!"

I heard a few of the pokemon murmur, "Hey, it's Grovyle!"

I heard a slight wind and a light *thud* behind me. I turned, and my father was standing behind me, standing straight up. He gleamed, "Good to see you back, son…"

I embraced him, "It's good to be back…"

Galvantula dropped behind us, and teased, "Awww, father-son moments are so cute! You guys are adorable!"

My dad grunted, "Galvantula… It has been rather melancholy in your absence…"

Galvantula shrugged while closing his eyes in an 'I know' gesture, "It's just one of my many talents and charms."

Connor appeared in front of us, smiling, "Alright, Galvantula. Whatever you say."

Tyranitar leapt off of the balcony, cratering the stone as he landed, and looked at the stone walls of the cavern accented by the multi-colored glowing moss, "Wow… I never realized how much I'd miss this place."

Celebi and Victini floated down beside us, and my dad glanced at Celebi who smiled nervously, "What?"

My dad smiled warmly, turning his head to face the other way, "Nothing…"

Connor looked around almost skittishly, "So, how has that Sableye been acting?"

He smiled, "He's actually adapting to life here quite well. Some of the pokemon still give him nasty looks, but most of them have come to accept him."  
Connor sighed with relief, "Alright… Good."

Tyranitar decided to interrupt the moment, "So, Connor, are we going to finish the tournament we started?"

I did a face-palm in my head, _How did I forget about that? We were in the semifinals before we had to go rescue Victini!_

Connor smiled, "Oh, right. Let's get everybody into the auditorium!"

He sent the message out with his telepathy, and the pokemon began filing into the amphitheater.

Tyranitar had explained to me the rules of the tournament when I first met him, and we had all signed up alongside each other while we were waiting for Sableye to return with news about Victini. I fought against many tough opponents, and eventually, it was me vs. Galvantula, and Tyranitar vs. Arbok. I found it kind of ironic how the three of us managed to be on the same level.

We began walking to the auditorium, Galvantula psyching himself up by using galvanism to stimulate his muscles, and Tyranitar walking like he owned the place, and in a way, he did. He told me that he was the champion of the tournament, undefeated and unchallenged by any that faced. I wanted to fight him without holding back, so I was honestly excited.

I figured I could take him down, mostly due to my type advantage, but that didn't stop me from keeping my guard up. I learned not to underestimate opponents. I always prepared for them to be way tougher than they looked. And he looked like a tank. If his looks were anything to go by, then I'd need to really give it everything I've got. Plus, even if I get to him, if he uses outrage… No, moves that incinerate are prohibited. I'm all good.

I looked around, and the cave had seemed to become even larger, this time consisting of two separate arenas for the final combatants...

As we lined up, Connor floated through the flames, and the audience cheered as he laughed, "Oh, it's good to be back! This round: Grovyle vs. Galvantula! and Tyranitar vs. Arbok! No orbs and no moves that incinerate!"

I stepped into the arena, and the pokemon cheered. Galvantula leapt to the other side, and glared at me, "Don't think I'll go easy on ya!"

I smirked, "I would hope not…"

Galvantula waited eagerly for Connor's go, and looked up in anticipation, his legs twitching. Connor smiled and made a sound like a chimecho that signaled the match to begin.

Galvantula leapt forward surprisingly fast as he used poison sting. The little barbs stuck into my arm that I used to block the attack, and I pulled them out. I immediately began to feel dizzy, like the poison was taking hold of me.

Galvantula used camouflage to turn himself virtually invisible, and hit me from the side. I fell to the ground, and I fought to get back up. I pulled a pecha berry from my bag and chomped down on it. Immediately my headache went away, and I stood up. I used detect, closing my eyes and feeling the currents of the air and the noise of the ground.

I heard the scuttling noise of his feet closing in on my right, so I leapt sideways and used a leaf blade on his camouflage web. It disintegrated on the spot, and he immediately used electro web. I swatted it aside with a vine whip, but he had already used camouflage again. I looked around, and he threw off the cloak as he used sucker punch, hitting the left side of my face with such power that I was thrown to the ground.

I stood back up, and he used Discharge, but I had prepared for that. My typing was resistant to electric type moves, so I charged him, shrugging off the electric jolt. I threw some seeds from my arms, and they sprouted into vines that entangled him. He struggled to get free, but the vines held fast. He began making a gurgling noise, and I perked up slightly, _What's he…_

Galvantula spit up a purple glob onto the vines, and they withered away. He smiled, "Toxic…"

Before I could get close enough to make a strike, Galvantula used sticky web to slow me down. I was coated in the steel-hard webbing, and found myself unable to move. I focused, _How can I cut the webs? I can grow leaf blades from my wrists, so maybe…_

I focused further, and my entire body broke out into a thorny exterior, with razor-sharp spikes all along my body. The webs were sliced, and I dodged the signal beam that he shot at me. I heard the noise as it zipped right over my head, barely missing my leafy hair thing. I still didn't even know what to call it…

I was running out of breath, so I munched down an oran berry while weaving around Galvantula as he scuttled sideways on his legs, psyching me out with fake outs and faking punches.

_How many moves does this guy know?_

Galvantula leapt forward as his arm began glowing. He hit me with a fury cutter, putting a gash across my chest, and I sidestepped the next one as I stabbed with another leaf blade.

His electric aura fried the leaf before it could pierce his hide, and he grinned, and with a strange accent, mocked, "Dear sir, I find your manners quite… Shocking."

His fist arced with electricity, and I leapt backwards as he punched the ground, sending a shockwave through the stone. Lucky for me, my grass typing minimized the damage, but Galvantula was already gone again, concealed underneath that annoying camouflage.

I looked around, trying to find him, and I could sense the insurgo's anticipation as they watched, to see who would win.

_How am I supposed to win? I can't even see him!_

I thought about when I first entered the insurgo, and how I beat Victini… Then I had what Connor called an aha moment.

I melted into shadows, a skill that Dusclops taught me before he sided with Dialga, and a skill that involves entering the shadow world; An exact shadow of our world where only ghost types could normally enter. I was a special case, able to do anything that others taught me… To a degree.

I saw Galvantula's shadowy outline, and I felt his gaze pierce straight through me.

He sent a shockwave into the ground, and I felt the sting of electricity even in the shadow world, and somehow it drew me out, and I rematerialized. I couldn't melt into shadows again, and I heard Galvantula rush forward.

I jumped to the side at the last moment, and felt something in my gut, like a tug coming upwards from my core, almost like a new move… I went with it, and glowing seeds flew out of my mouth as fast as rapidash, pelting the ground and Galvantula. His camouflage web was torn to shreds, and I used mega drain.

I sapped the energy from him before he could recover from the pelting of seeds, and finished it with a low sweep to his legs. I ensnared him with vines and lowered a leaf blade to his head.

After a few moments of Galvantula struggling to get up, Connor's voice echoed, "Winner! Grovyle!"

The crowd went wild, and I looked towards the other battle between Tyranitar and Arbok after freeing Galvantula. He scuttled up to me and kneeled, "Son of Basileus, I acknowledge you as my superior."

I chuckled, "Oh, please, you're my friend; You don't need to kneel and all that."

Galvantula smiled, "I know."

He suddenly looked past me into the next little arena, "How's it lookin' between Tyranitar and Arbok? This is Arbok's first tournament, so this'll be interesting; Undoubtedly he's watched Tyranitar in action before, tryin' to learn his fighting patterns."

I observed, and Arbok was using its slender body to dodge most of Tyranitar's tail swipes and stomps. He managed to get Tyranitar into a chokehold using its tail and long body to completely bind him up, but Tyranitar's arms began glowing with heat, and Arbok withdrew, slithering away from the flaming fists. Tyranitar grabbed its head with his other arm, and it started to turn light blue with frost. Arbok hissed in pain as Tyranitar began freezing its head with his icy hand.

_Great… He knows at least two moves that I'm weak to…_

Arbok tapped out with its tail after a moment, and Connor smiled, "Winner! Tyranitar!"

Tyranitar helped the Arbok up, and smiled, "Sorry… No hard feelings, right?"

The Arbok nodded, "None whatsoever."

Tyranitar sighed with relief, "Good… Thanks for the battle!"

I walked up to him afterwards, and he smiled, "Well, well, well! Look who beat Galvantula!"

I looked to the ground, "Yeah; It was difficult. He is a powerful opponent, to say the least."

Tyranitar looked around, "So… It's me against you, huh?"

I looked to the audience, then back to him, "It looks that way to me."

He grinned, "Well, let's get started. No holds barred."

* * *

**_Well alright; The next two chapters are sort of gauges for their strength, but I had to include it somewhere. My internet's been really screwy lately, so I might be able to only do one-a-days for the next few days till its fixed. Let me know how this chapter went with a quick Review or PM, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love! Also, Review or PM who you think will win, Grovyle or Tyranitar?_**

**_-PL_**


	20. Grovyle Vs Tyranitar

**-Chapter 20: Grovyle vs. Tyranitar-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I stood at the opposite end of the arena that had been expanded for the final match, and Connor explained the rules again, "No orbs allowed, Grovyle, no shadow traveling, and Tyranitar, no outrage."

He shrugged as he looked at me intimidatingly, "Alright; I can still take you down easily…"

I crouched into my fighting stance, "We'll see about that."

Connor made the jingling noise, and Tyranitar rushed forward with ridiculous speed. He glistened like he just got a fresh layer of shininess as he kicked up a swirl of sand behind him. I leapt out of the way in barely enough time to dodge a fire punch.

_Great… Rock polish…_

He turned faster than I could regain my footing, and caught me with an iron tail that sent me flying into the wall of the arena. I fell to the ground, but quickly got up again. Tyranitar stood in one spot and began spinning rapidly on the sandy terrain of the arena, and as his tail kicked up the sand, it turned into a vicious sandstorm.

I squinted my eyes trying to see, but it was no use. The sand got into my eyes, and they watered uncontrollably.

As I was covering them, I heard a charging up sound, like the sound of a powerful attack. I leapt straight up and crashed into the roof of the dome.

I fell back to the ground and I was hit from the side again, this time being thrown into the ground. The sandstorm wasn't letting up, and I was blinded, so I had to rely on my other senses.

Just my luck, I couldn't hear past all of this sand either, and my smell was out of commission because of the sand clogging up my nostrils…

_Great… Sand, sand, sand, and more sand..._

Tyranitar was practically invisible in this sandstorm, and I was guessing he could see perfectly fine, because he was hitting me from the right and left relentlessly. And it made me mad because I could tell that he wasn't even trying!

He let the sandstorm subside and I rubbed the sand out of my eyes. I blinked the tears away, and he didn't even look out of breath!

I growled, and he smiled, "Come on, then!"

I charged forward as I extended leaf blades from my wrists, but he met it with a stone edge. Stones erupted into a wall in front of him, and my leaf blades sunk into that. He shattered it with brick break, and used ancient power to send the shards back at me. I leapt out of the way of the rocks, using a wooden shield grown on one arm to block the majority of them, but a few still nicked my arms, and I munched an oran berry to restore my strength while Tyranitar leisurely walked forward.

Tyranitar charged right afterward, not letting up, using his insane speed boost from rock polish to outspeed all of my counterattacks. He blocked my vine whip with an ice punch, and his eyes turned pitch black as he smiled sinisterly, "Dark Pulse…"

He roared, and a wave consisting of pure evil thoughts absolutely messed up my mind. All I could focus on were the voices whispering and screaming in my head. The sound of thousands of tormented pokemon... It took a moment to get them out, and I sighed, "How about never doing that again…"

Tyranitar was already right in front of me by the time I could focus, and he grabbed me with a fiery hand. I felt the stinging of the flames lapping up my body as he threw me back into the ground, and the only thing I could think about was how powerful he was.

I used mega drain to sap some energy from him, and rolled out of his path as he tried to stomp on me.

I leapt up, but he used dragon tail to send me flying into the wall. That was basically a dragon-type version of iron tail with way more knock-back.

I threw leaf blades at him as I felt my energy fading, but his arms glowed like metal, and he blocked the attack.

_He knows Iron Defense… Are you kidding me..._

I landed on my feet and leapt forward, taking him by surprise, and I leapt over him as I attached a leech seed to his back, where he couldn't get it off. He tried to reach for it, and I used low sweep to knock him over. He strained to get up, and I used vines to hold his arms and legs against the ground. I extended my leaf blade to his forehead, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but a column of red-hot flame shot out, and I fell backwards. He was enveloped in a purple sphere, and what happened next was a sight I was all too familiar with…

He underwent what Connor explained was Mega Evolution, and he was now almost three feet taller, with larger spikes coming from his chest, head, and knees, and he looked a lot more intimidating, with a big red symbol on his chest that looked like a pupitar; The pre-evolved form of him.

He stood up and stomped on the ground, an attack that shook the whole arena. He charged forward and I intercepted with my new move; Bullet seed. I pelted him with the seeds that sprouted into vines when they hit the ground, and he backed up slightly. His mouth glowed white, and this time a beam of pure cold bellowed out straight for me. I instinctively lifted my arm to block the beam of cold; The entire limb was frozen solid, and it went limp. I could feel the cold seeping to the rest of my body... I couldn't afford to lose this battle!

I thought about the outcomes in my head, like if Connor could heal a shattered arm… I thought about it, but Tyranitar was preparing to charge forward, so I went for it. I slammed my frozen arm into the ground with all of my might, shattering it into a thousand ice shards. The pain made my vision go blood red, and I saw Tyranitar's expression change to surprise as he stood there, dumbfounded. I could feel the crowd's astonishment as I grunted from the pain, and gritting my teeth together. I felt with my left hand where my arm should be, and it wasn't there… I gasped, _No way..._

Tyranitar looked legitimately astonished, like he did something horrible… I thought about my typing, and my abilities, hoping that my plant origins can get me out of this… _Maybe since I'm like a plant, I can regenerate… Worth a shot. While Tyranitar's distracted. Connor can heal it if it doesn't work, right?_

I closed my eyes, and planted my feet into the ground using ingrain. I felt the energy of the soil flow into my body, and I looked at my shoulder, and I saw a vine extending out of it. It elongated and thickened into the exact shape and size of my previous arm, growing three leaves on the wrists, and I tried to move it. It moved like my arm, and all of the pain was gone.

My thoughts somehow strayed the mark of Dialga for the first time in a long while, and I noticed that the arm I shattered was my right one, the one with the mark…

I looked, but the mark was still there, a pitch black mark symbolizing the biggest mistake of my life.

I frowned, but Tyranitar shook me out of my disappointment. I smiled at realizing that I can regenerate lost limbs like a plant, and I used magical leaf, a move that Celebi taught me to use during the trip to the fogbound lake. It was boring, so I didn't really think about it until I needed it, which was now.

The glowing leaves all pierced his stone hide, and he flinched as they all hit his chest, and he smiled, "That actually stung a little bit…"

He ripped them out and threw them aside as he rushed forward again, except this time he was enveloped in a red wispy smoke as he charged. I felt the energy coming from him, like a pressure built up, so I leapt out of the way as he barreled past. Lucky for me; The aura barrier nearly shattered as he slammed into it head on, the stone spike on his head breaking through it like a knife. Something told me that I wouldn't have survived that hit.

Tyranitar was recovering from the giga impact, so I used that opportunity to use mega drain repeatedly until I recovered. Unfortunately, I could only get maybe one or two in before he continued the attack; But the leech seed was helping me out, restoring my strength while slowly draining his.

Tyranitar seemed to realize that he was taking it too easy, so he decided to whip up another sandstorm… This time, I covered my eyes with the leaf on my head, like a turban. It kept nearly all of the sand out of my eyes, so I could still see… Barely.

Tyranitar seemed to be able to move even faster through the maelstrom of swirling sand, and on top of the rock polish, that was ridiculously fast.

I was hit from the side, then again from behind before I could even turn around. I saw Tyranitar's mouth open and begin to glow blue, signaling dragon pulse, and I grew a wooden cocoon around me, but he smashed it with iron tail and then used dragon pulse while I was thrown into the air.

I was slammed into the aura barrier again, and as I fell, Tyranitar used fire punch to launch me back into the air before hitting me with hyper beam.

The beam of concentrated energy hit me square in the chest, and I blacked out entirely.

* * *

_**Important gauges of strength for characters. Let me know if I did a good job with this with a quick Review or PM, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	21. Grovyle's Recovery

**-Chapter 21: Grovyle's Recovery-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

When I came to, my eyes opened, but there was a light in front of me, and I had to squint under its harsh glow. I looked around, and noticed that I was in my room by myself. The light was coming from the ember moss, and it wasn't very bright at all. I was laying on my hammock, with a wooden bedside table next to me, with a drink that looked like water.

I grabbed it without sitting up, and took a sip. I recoiled at the bitter taste, almost dropping the cup, and I set it back down. I eventually tried to sit up, but as soon as I tried, my body exploded into pain. I shouted in agony, and Connor walked into my room, "Oh, good; You're awake."

He sat down beside me, and I turned my neck to face him. He smiled, but I could tell that it was forced.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. You just took a huge beating in there; I'm surprised I didn't have to re-merge your soul… Every bone in your body was pretty much reduced to gravel with that hyper beam. Your plant origins helped you survive due to your extreme healing capabilities… I didn't know that you could regenerate limbs like that…"

I smiled, "Neither did I…"

Connor frowned, "That was a stupid move; I can't regenerate limbs like that, even on myself… If you couldn't regenerate your arm, that would have been problematic… Severed limbs, I can reattach, but a shattered, flash-frozen arm? Nope."

I sighed, "Well… That's good to know for the future…"

He smiled, "Yeah… Um, so… I'll finish healing your lower body real quick… Hold up."

He placed his hand on my chest, and I gasped with pain.

He continued, "Sorry… This will hurt a lot."

He began humming, and I groaned as a searing pain pulsed throughout my whole body. I shouted out in pain, and Connor squinted. The agony was almost as bad as when I had to merge my soul with my body when Dusknoir killed me a few weeks ago. He stopped after a moment, breathing heavily, and murmured, "Try moving your legs."  
I attempted to move my legs, but they were still limp. I looked at my arm, the one with the mark of Dialga on it, and frowned slightly.

Connor glanced quickly at my arm, then to my eyes as he murmured, "Let it go, Grovyle… It was a mistake. You've moved on. Same as me."

I nodded slightly, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more than just the seal over it… To re-appear in the exact same spot on a completely new arm… No psychic incantation or spell should make it _that_ permanent…

Connor's voice snapped me out of my thoughts when he said suddenly, "You were out for a long while. The others were worried."

I looked around with hope, "Where are they?"

Connor smiled warmly as he placed a hand on my shoulder, "They're training… There's another thing… Dialga's Army… It's advancing. He is moving towards Dragon Mountain, with far more Sableye and Golurk than we saw in Temporal Tower."

I shrugged, "So? We go to the past before they get here. What's the big deal?"

Connor's frown deepened, "I have already tried that… Gengar's Mega form's ability stops me from teleporting us past them…"

"Why do we need to get past them?"

Connor looked down slightly, "Because Celebi told me that the passage of time, the one thing that she needs to send us back that far in time, is behind them in the mountains at the other end of the hidden land. There's no avoiding this. I've looked for every other way of getting there."

I thought about it, "Can't Victini give Celebi the boost needed?"

He shook his head, "I already asked. The overload of power would basically cause time to collapse on itself around her; The passage of time channels her power into one area, making it possible to travel many generations back without risk of collapsing time's structure."

I looked back to my legs, trying to change the subject, "So… How long until I can walk again?"

He shrugged, "As soon as I can mend your bones and reattach your shredded muscles to the bone… You don't exactly have human bones, so this is a bit difficult… In fact, no pokemon has human bones… But yours… Your cellular makeup consists of what appear to be similar to eukaryotic plant cells, and less like any other kind, so your cellular repair rate should be able to heal your anatomical makeup without my help…"

I shook my head slightly, "I don't know what half of those words mean; Can you talk in a language I understand?"  
He nodded, "Um… You have plant cells, so you can heal really, really fast. You shouldn't be needing my help to heal."

I looked at my arms as I held them in front of me, "Maybe I don't have those kind?"

Connor laughed, "Oh, you do. That's the only reason you could survive all of Tyranitar's attacks. You are tough, and from what I saw, you can regenerate limbs faster than a Starmie. And not to mention your bones… Pound for pound, they're eighteen times stronger than mine…"

I shook my head, "Wait, I've seen you take a way harder beat down than me! How come you're not dead?"

His hand glowed, and he smiled, "My aura protects me, sort of like the move Endure. I can survive anything thrown at me, as long as I'm prepared. On top of that, I can heal myself and others like you do by using synthesis or mega drain… Although I can do it without the need for a source of the power. I'm not as all-powerful as the pokemon here think I am. I'm practically unable to be killed, that's true, but I can still be beaten."

I nodded and tried to speak, but I grimaced at the pain in my legs, and Connor placed his hand on one. He chanted, "_sanare eius fractum corpus…" _and his hand glowed again. This time, I could feel my legs, and I found out that I could move them. Connor smiled, "There. Good as new!"

I embraced him suddenly as I stood up, "Thank you, Connor!"

He chuckled slightly, "No problem."

Connor looked down to me, "You remind me of me when I was your age… How old are you, in your species' years? Fifteen? Sixteen? You can't be any older than that…"

I smiled, "It's kind of hard to tell with time slowing down my aging process, but maybe seventeen... How old are you?"

He looked up again, "Well, if I don't include the frozen time as a variable, I'd be twenty in human years."

I tensed up slightly when I heard footsteps coming from behind Connor, and he smiled as he turned around, "Hello Basileus. I thought that you were training the Insurgo?"

My dad smiled warmly, "I came to see if my son was alright; I presume that I am permitted to check on the well-being of my offspring?"

Connor gestured to me, "Apologies, old friend. He is alright, as you can see; He is up and walking!"

I took a step forward for good measure, and my dad smiled, "Alright… I will be continuing training the others. Connor, take good care of him in my absence."

Connor nodded, "Sure thing, Basileus."

My dad exited the chamber, and Connor turned to me, a pained look in his eyes.

I tilted my head, "What's wrong, Connor?"

His eyes teared up, and he sat down on a tree stump he grew from the ground, "Grovyle… You trust me, right?"

I nodded, "Of course. You're like my best friend."

He smiled faintly, "Good… Well, I need to tell you something important. It's about who I was when I was first brought here."

My confusion set in, "I already saw your past when you kicked me and Dusclops out."

He nodded, "And what you saw is true… However, there is more that not even I knew about myself… I need to tell you. I'll tell you the shortened version, for the lack of time I have to explain…"

He took a deep breath, and began talking, "Alright… So, I'm going to start with the big pieces… Time stopping is my fault."

I couldn't keep in my surprise, "Huh? You're the most determined to change this world! How would this be your fault?"

He grimaced, "I know… It's because… Y'know, when you saw my past, how Giratina let me be reborn into this world?"  
"Yeah…"

"Well, it was Darkrai who brought me back from the dead… That whole thing with Giratina was a dream, conjured up by him..." He explained how Darkrai had manipulated him, and he helped make this world of darkness… He told me everything about his past before this world.

He stopped, and I leaned forward, "That's it?"

He nodded, "It's the really condensed version, but yeah. Why?"

I sat down, "You really thought I would judge you for that? Apparently, you don't know me very well. You're obviously a good person, so what you did then doesn't matter."

He smiled, "Huh. That went better than I expected..."

I nodded as I stood up, "No problem. But you said that without your robe, you're powerless?"

He nodded slightly, "Yes… I have not told another of this, not even Lucario…"

My eyes widened at the seriousness of the information I had just received, "Oh… So what happens when it rips or tears?"

He shrugged, "I dunno. I'd imagine Darkrai made this resistant to tearing and such. Hasn't been an issue before."

I smiled, "Cool. Looks like we need to start getting ready to fight…"

* * *

_**Welp, here we go! Chapter 21! Leave a quick review or PM, and if you have any OCs for the next story, then the template is on my profile. Tuesday is the last chance to submit OCs, after that I will not be taking any more for a while! Thanks! Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	22. Preparation for War

**-Chapter 22: Preparation for War-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I can't believe that Connor thought that I'd just disown him because of what he did. We've already been across the world and back together; I wasn't going to give that up because of who he claimed he was before.

Connor seemed relieved at my decision, and the moment was short-lived when Galvantula walked through the vines, "You guys are adorable! I'm glad to see that you're up and walking, G! Tyranitar doesn't hold back on anybody, so don't think he doesn't like you! He likes everybody! Except that Malamar guy… He looks like a girl. Creeps everybody out… Don't tell anybody I said that."

Connor cleared his throat dramatically, and Galvantula turned back to the entrance, "What's that? Coming! ...Roserade… Called me. Heh."

He dashed out, tripping Tyranitar on his way in. He caught himself, and smiled warmly, "You alright, Grovyle?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Connor healed me relatively well."

He sighed with relief, "Good… I didn't know if I'd done any permanent damage. Good to see that you're doing alright!"

I laughed, and Celebi flew over from behind Tyranitar. I looked at her, and she was even more breathtaking than when I had first seen her. She shined with a glowing brilliance, like there was a light coming from her skin, sparkling like all of the crystals in crystal cave. She smiled as she fluttered over to me, past Connor.

I smiled, "Celebi! I didn't know that my loss was such a big deal. I thought Tyranitar was, like, undefeated or something."

Without warning, she hit my right arm, and I shouted in astonishment, "Hey! That's a new arm! I'm still healing, you know!"

She looked into my eyes with an angry fire sparking to life, "That was for losing."

I looked into her eyes, and sighed, "What was I supposed to-"

She put her hand over my mouth, and her expression softened, "You didn't let me finish…"

She leaned forward in midair, and kissed me. This time, I was prepared, not drawing away like the first time back at fogbound lake.

She smiled, "That was for not dying…" She floated backwards to Tyranitar, and my dad walked in again, "One more thing, Connor~"

Tyranitar turned around, grinning goofily, "You just missed it, Basileus."

He frowned, "Missed what?" He glanced at Celebi, then at me, and he seemed to realize what had happened, "Oh."

He sort of glared at Celebi, and tried to walk over to her, but Galvantula swung back into the room, "Okay, I'm back! Roserade just needed me to get a berry she pinned on the side of the cavern with a thorn from her rosebush hands. She and Beedrill had a spike-throwing contest, and she won with flying colors. Literally, the berry juice was flung all over the place. Looked like a Skittles commercial. What'd I- Hello~! It's a party up in here! We got Basileus, Celebi, Tyranitar, Connor, Grovyle, and the party master, Moi! Let's get the mood going!"

_Skittles? What's that?_

He climbed up the wall, and strung an electro ball from the roof, which made a disco-ball effect, and he shouted, "Ludicolo band, file in!"

A ludicolo, Four Lombre, and four Bellossom strode through the vines, and Ludicolo grinned, "Ooooohhhh Yeeeaaah!" And they all began dancing to music that seemed to come from the walls. Galvantula landed on the ground and was dancing hardcore, shaking his arms and legs to the beat, and Tyranitar joined in for a moment before Connor clapped, and everything was silent. The Ludicolo band grumbled their disappointment, and walked out of the room as the electro ball fizzled out.

Connor suppressed a grin, "As entertaining as that was, we have many pressing matters at hand."

Galvantula's shoulders slumped, "Oh, come on ya big party pooper! I'm trying to avoid talking about depressing news updates about Dialga's Army!"

Connor smiled, "Tell you what… When we get back from the battle, and if we win, you can coordinate the largest party in the hidden land. Electric disco balls, music, Ludicolo's dance team, the whole schebang."

Galvantula smiled, "Well, then… I guess that we're winning this time around!"

My dad looked around, "I would hope so, Galvantula."

The yellow arthropod shrugged, "Well… Let's go!"

He dashed out of my room, and Connor chuckled, "He is so funny sometimes…"

Out of curiosity, I asked, "So, will you let him do the huge dance party?"

Connor nodded, "When we come back, and if we win the battle, then he can."

I nodded, "Reasonable enough."

Connor turned to Celebi, "Do you know where the passage of time is? We've been keeping Dusknoir in the dark about it with Zoroark's illusions, but I need to know where it is so I know where to go."

Celebi nodded, "It should be in the highlands, past Temporal Tower…"

Connor nodded, a scowl crossing his face, "So we can't avoid the battle?"

Celebi's expression showed pain, "I am afraid not…"

Connor grunted, "So be it. Tell Staraptor to propose a temporary truce to Dusknoir."

Celebi nodded and flew off. I watched as the vines concealed her. I sighed as Basileus knelt next to Connor, who was sitting on the floor, legs crossed, "Connor… Do you find it wise to go to war? I fear that we are not ready to face against numbers as large as what Staraptor has said."

Connor snapped back, "We have to be. It's coming, whether we like it or not."

I decided to interject as I sat up, "Whoa, how many are we talking about?"

My dad's eye showed doubt, which I had never seen in him before, "The sableye outnumber us twenty to one, since we're only training the male adults to battle, and they have at least three hundred golurk."

Connor interjected, "The Golurk are the main concern. The Sableye are weak individually."

I nodded, signifying my understanding, and asked, "So… Have you ever prepared a large-scale army before?"

Connor shook his head, "There's a first time for everything."

Tyranitar was very blunt in his reply, "So, you haven't."

Connor nodded, "No… I would hope that my lack of experience doesn't cost us this battle…"

Tyranitar continued, "So… What're we going to tell the others?"

"That we are going to war. They do not need to know the details right beforehand. I have full confidence in the Insurgo."

Tyranitar nodded, "Alright…"

Connor turned to me, "Grovyle… You, Lucario, and Basileus will be my accompanying party to meet Dusknoir. I can only have three pokemon, with me being the fourth, excluding pokemon that we ride to the meeting point."

I smiled, "So I can ride Steelix to the congregation?"

He nodded as he contemplated that, "The rules say that all four of the pokemon can have pokemon to ride to the parley, if they so desire."

I nodded, "I'll go let him know."

As I stood up and exited my room, I heard Steelix' snoring from across the cavern. Every exhale was a loud hissing noise that sounded like a geyser. I walked up to him, and I rubbed his snout lightly. His diamond-hard skin must be sensitive to gentle touch, because his eyes shot open, and he slithered in circles, his tail shaking back and forth. A few pokemon had to dart out of the way to avoid being slammed by an excited iron tail, and I laughed, "I know… I'm all better now."

Its throat rumbled, and I could feel some sort of tension that was evident now that his joy at seeing me had worn off.

"What's wrong, Steelix?"

He lowered his head, and gestured for me to climb on. I leapt onto his head. He reared back, and shot straight towards the nearest wall. I thought he was going to bore through it, but when he hit it, he phased through it like it wasn't there. The wall vanished to reveal a new tunnel that was pre-carved. I presumed that Connor had sealed up the tunnels while I was out, because I laid on his head for a good while before we broke through the side of a mountain, and the place we emerged had me disoriented. We were at the edge of a valley that was about a mile across, pretty high up on an overhang, and what I saw rendered me incapable of using words.

There were thousands of Sableye, with giant catapults on wheels manned by a few hundred Golurk. They were practically at the mountain range already! They didn't seem to see us, probably because of the darkness, but the glint of the Sableye's eyes reflecting the red glow of the Golurk lit up the army as bright as ember moss. I couldn't see the end of the army, and that's what had me nervous. We had a small handful of pokemon compared to their endless supply…

I patted Steelix' head, "Take me back. We have to warn them!"

He nodded slightly, almost throwing me off, and did a full 360 with his body. He went back through the tunnel, this time moving twice as fast as before. We emerged from the wall, Steelix cracking the stone beneath him from having to stop so suddenly, and I leapt off of him while he was still moving.

I sprinted to the nearest subsidiary cave that I saw at the ground level. _I need to warn my dad!_

* * *

**_Another Cliffhanger! Chapter 22 guys! I hope you enjoyed, and FYI I'm going to be on vacation for the next week or so starting thursday, during which time there is a 97% Chance that I will not be posting at all. So... If you did enjoy, and have any suggestions, then hit me up with a quick Review or PM to voice your thoughts of the chapter, or just to talk to me, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love!_**

**_-PL_**


	23. Making Amends With Tyrants

**-Chapter 23: Making Amends with Tyrants-**

**-Basileus' POV-**

I was having Ditto teach the pokemon that I was not familiar with, and after Grovyle awoke, I resumed training the Grass type pokemon. I wasn't suited for this… I was more of a rogue fighter, learning as I went, but soon, there will be a war so massive, it will make the war of the primal world seem insubstantial. No single pokemon -excluding the sons of Arceus- could win against an army that massive.

My son was sprinting, out of breath when I heard him. I turned, and he panted, speaking in between breaths, "The Sableye… Gah… And Golurk…"

I placed my hand on his shoulder, "What is the matter?"

His eyes were fearful, "They're here… At… The mountain range."

I narrowed my eyes, "Impossible… To have moved that fast…"

Connor strode over to us from out of nowhere, and backed my son's claim, "It's actually entirely possible… Dialga could have accelerated time outside of Dragon mountain, which would make us slowed down in comparison. The army is here, Basileus. I can feel the power coming from them."

I stood up straight, "Well… We'll have to make due with what we have." I cupped my hands over my mouth, "Insurgo! We are departing in ten minutes! Meet in the main cavern for departure!"

The group I was training began exiting, and Connor gleamed, "Oh, Grovyle! I have something for you!"

_What?_

Connor reached into the wall, and pulled out a suit of armor, made from some sort of material that I didn't recognize.

"What is that?"

Connor nodded, smiling, "Draconian Iron and Vibranium Exo-suit."

Grovyle tilted his head, "Exo-suit?"

"Armor simply protects you, but this actually makes your abilities enhanced, as well as providing protection… I made it myself."

Grovyle gasped, "That's what you've been working on with that pile of metal?! You're kidding me!"

Connor shrugged, "It wasn't too difficult. Using my aura helped to mold most of the metal into the proper shapes. Except the vibranium. That stuff is ridiculous. They weren't kidding about its toughness and durability."

Grovyle smiled, "Will it protect me sufficiently?"

Connor laughed, "Pff, you kidding? This is the toughest material I could get ahold of! I had to dunk it in lava to heat it up enough to mold it to fit you!"

Connor called a Machamp over as it walked past, "Machamp, Hit this as hard as you can."

The machamp nodded, and replied in a questioning manner, "Okay…" and reared its lower right arm back for a dynamic punch. The shock wave resulting from the force rattled my eye in my head, and caused Connor's robes to flap in the wind

The machamp smirked, then gasped with surprise. The armor wasn't even dented!

I chuckled, "That _is_ impressive…"

The Machamp was awestruck, "What is that made of, Headmaster?"

Connor smiled, "Draconian Iron combined with vibranium plating. Nothing that I know of is more durable."

Grovyle frowned, "But the force of the blow would still have broken my chest…"

Connor shrugged, "Naw, it won't do that. It's completely vibration absorbent. Bulletproof, punch-proof, sharp object proof, you name it. You won't feel a thing, as long as the armor itself takes the blow. Plus, it grounds you to this dimension, to prevent any of the stupid Golurk zapping you into an alternate reality."

I shook my head with a smirk across my face, "Where'd you get all of that material?"

Connor smiled, "From the trans-dimensional portal. You know about it, Basileus."

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I picked up the armor, and slipped into it. It looked like a skeleton of me, and when I stepped into it, it clamped around my body: Arms, legs, neck, head, and it even acted as gloves on my hands. It was just snug enough to where I knew it wouldn't fall off, but It wasn't so tight that it was uncomfortable.

Connor pressed a switch on the side of it, and it began glowing orange. The armor covering my upper arms glowed green, like the color of my skin, and the marks of Dialga and Celebi were as clear as day on the metal.

I frowned, "Why are these on here?"

Connor shrugged, "We don't have time for trivial questions. I'll explain what the armor does real quick; It enhances your strength, toughness, and speed; I toned down the jumping portion of it, because you don't need to go jumping half a mile accidentally. That would be bad. Anywho, it acts as an extension of yourself, latching to your skin, and acting exactly as your skin would; I condensed a crap-ton of Victini's Energy into a sphere as the power source, so it's pretty much infinite power to the suit, and when needed, it'll give you a power boost as well… I don't know how well it'll work, but it's better than nothing."

I smiled, "So… I don't feel anything underneath the armor?"

Connor gestured to the wall, "Try it and see."

I winded back my hand for a punch, and slammed my suped up fist into the wall. My hand cut through the stone like water, and I pulled it out, not feeling any pain.

I grinned, "Those Sableye are going down." as I stomped on the stone floor, cratering it downwards.

Connor rose the stone back up, "Now don't let my gift make you reckless. You're not invincible."

I grinned, "I'm won't. I'll be careful!"

My dad looked at Connor, "Your craftsmanship is astounding… How did you learn to build such complicated machines?"  
Connor shrugged, "I've read a lot of blueprints for different things, and tried them out. I'm glad it worked. Random crap gets sent here through the trans-dimensional portal. Arceus knows where it comes from… That's how I got the vibranium. It's from the digital dimension, from movies, games, that sort of stuff. It doesn't exist in real life as far as I know."

I frowned after realizing what I had forgotten, "The Sableye! They're probably here by now!"

Connor smiled, "Celebi's accelerated time for us as well, so it cancels out Dialga's temporal fluctuation effect."

I nodded, "Well, we should get going anyways, right?"

My dad glanced at the exit, "Yes, we must meet Dusknoir and see what three pokemon are accompanying him to the truce."

Connor grabbed our hands, and we were teleported to the balcony overlooking the Insurgo. We only had about three hundred battle-ready pokemon. Pretty much only males, and females that were insistent on going. The children and other females were remaining here, because Connor said it would prove fruitless to send them with us.

Connor shouted down, "Let us remember this day… As the day we conquer the darkness! We will rain death upon Dialga's army, and make them retreat to their tower, never to come within a hundred miles of this place ever again!"  
The pokemon cheered, and he smiled. I saw the unmistakable look of fear in his eyes, but he smiled with a confident look on his face, and held Victini. He glowed orange, and bellowed, "Join hands, Insurgo!"

The pokemon joined hands beneath us, and Connor chanted, "_ut est magna vallem." _and we were transported to the base of a large hill covered with patches of grey grass, frozen in time. It was weird to think that the grass here was the same four hundred years ago...

Connor extended his arm, and Staraptor, a bird as big as I was, landed next to him, "Headmaster… There are so many… Numbers so large, they outnumber us twenty to one…"

Connor grimaced slightly, but looked at the bird, "Numbers don't determine the victor. Besides, we might be able to avoid this war, if Dusknoir can be reasoned with…"

He whistled a sharp note that carried in the still air, and a Salamence landed next to him, diving from the sky. It roared, almost as loud as Exploud, and Connor leapt on, "Grovyle, grab Steelix, Basileus, get Tropius, and Lucario, call Braviary."

My dad blew a note on his leafwhistle, and a big light brown four-legged pokemon with giant leaves for wings flew from the mountains, and skidded to a halt next to him. Lucario closed his eyes, and his ear-things began floating upwards slightly. He waited, and then we heard a powerful shriek from the clouds.

Then, a large bird pokemon with red, white and blue plumage dove from the clouds, and landed next to Lucario. They all leapt onto their flying pokemon, and I called for Steelix.

I felt the ground quake beneath me, and the rest of the insurgo felt it too, because they began shifting uneasily. Steelix erupted from the bleak, stone ground, and what I saw made me awestruck. He was enveloped in a purple sphere that elongated, and he grew even larger, and giant crystals protruded from his body, like diamond spikes. His body was even more rugged, and his head had somewhat elongated at the chin into multiple spikes. He had multiple pieces of jewel-encrusted metal orbiting his head, and I grinned. He landed next to me, scattering shards of stone that began orbiting his head, adding to the satellites, and hissed through his nostrils.

Galvantula crawled over to me, "Talk about a grand entrance. Wish Dusknoir and Gengar woulda seen that; They'd be peein' their ghostly pants."

I laughed, "Yeah; Um, Connor? So how's this going to work? We go and meet them in the middle of the valley, then what?"

Connor had blue glowing reins on the Salamence, and he looked down from his seat on its back, "We either avoid war, or are left with no other choice but to fight. I won't wait around for them to come knocking down our door again."

I nodded, "Yeah, but that's not what I meant…"

Connor smiled, "We aren't allowed to cross this hill with any more than four living entities in the party, with each one riding another pokemon… So eight entities tops."

I nodded, "d'you think that they're riding pokemon to meet us?"

Connor shrugged, "Heck if I know; Dusknoir's too big to ride any pokemon that isn't a son of Arceus, and I don't see Gengar riding one. Same with the Golurk."

I looked to the crest of the hill obstructing our view, and I frowned, "Let's hope this ends in our favor…"

Connor called back to the Insurgo, "None shall cross over the crest of this hill until I give the order! Doing so will be declaring war, the one thing we're trying to avoid! Am I clear?"

Galvantula grinned, "Clear as air."

Connor repeated himself, more forcefully, "Am I clear? I need you all to answer!"

"YES, SIR!"

He smirked slightly, "Good. Let's go."

**-Connor's POV-**

Just before we departed, I felt a tingle in my spine, like when somebody breathes down your neck, but it was a chilled breath, cold as Ice. I turned, but there was nothing there. I sent an aura pulse out into the air, scanning for any invisible entities, but I didn't sense any… I couldn't shake a weird feeling in my gut… Something was wrong… I couldn't tell what it was, though. That's what worried me more.

I rode my salamence right above Grovyle, about twenty feet in the air, and I heard Lucario murmur, "I am so done with great battles…"

I looked ahead, and the army that I had heard so much about emerged over the crest of the opposing hill. Sableye appeared like a wave, followed by Golurk manning giant wooden machines.

I growled, "Great… They've got crossbows…"

I looked at the forces we were up against, and I didn't like our odds…

I saw Dusknoir floating above the ground, not riding anything… Golurk was walking next to him, along with Gengar. I saw a giant grey stone dinosaur-looking pokemon flying above, and I cursed, "Dialga brought back Aerodactyl…"  
The giant flying pokemon swooped in next to them, and began walking. They took a few minutes, but we all met at the middle.

I dismounted my salamence, and handed Basileus a mega ring that I had gotten from my weird trans-dimensional portal thing. I murmured, "Put it on…"

Basileus complied, strapping it around his wrist, and I turned to Dusknoir, who was floating a couple feet off of the ground, causing him to be a full three feet taller than me.

In spite of his size, I smirked, "Dusknoir… You know why I'm here."

Dusknoir's stomach mouth smiled, "Of course I do. You wish to save your little resistance group from their unavoidable fate by proposing a deal with me."

I nodded while smiling nonchalantly, "You are well informed."

Dusknoir growled, "Flattery doesn't work on me. It'll take a lot for me to call off the Sableye."

Then, another voice, not Gengar's, Dusknoir's, or Sableye's echoed, "Actually, that'd be my call… Not yours."

I could tell that Dusknoir didn't know who it was, because he bellowed, "Show yourself!"

I looked around, recognizing the voice all too well, "No… It can't be…"

I saw a dark cloud appear above Dusknoir's head, and I watched as Dusknoir looked into the inky darkness. A massive hand extended, and Dusknoir was sent sprawling into the ground. The Golurk tried to punch the cloud, but it vanished, this time appearing beneath its foot, and toppling it over. The cloud of darkness seemed to move like it was alive. A hand extended from the cloud, and launched purple spheres at our opposers. They were all enveloped in dark violet orbs, and began crackling with dark energy. Their eyes closed, and they began curling up into a ball-like shape.  
I shook my head, "No, no, no, no…."

Then, the pokemon I had feared since before my life here had begun appeared from the cloud. He was pitch black, with a narrow waist and a white hair-like piece on his head. His arms were narrow, with big clawed hands. He had a red frill surrounding its neck, and one blue eye was shown.

He turned to us, and with a deep, powerful voice, said, "Where are my manners? I am Darkrai, the bringer of nightmares, true ruler of the hidden land."

* * *

**_Dun dun duuun! I'll do another today, because I'm leaving tomorrow for a week and a half. When I get back, prepare for plot twists and stuff. As always, feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed, or if you have any suggestions, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love!_**

**_-PL_**


	24. Tears for a Father

**-Chapter 24: Tears for a Father-**

**-Connor's POV-**

There was no way that was him… He shouldn't have been here… He should have been banished by Palkia long ago! I have to get the others out of harms' way...

I turned to the others, "Go. Back to Dragon Mountain."

Grovyle tried to argue, "Connor-"

"No! This is over! Go!"

Darkrai smiled, "Not so fast… It's been so long-"

I raised a hand that crackled with aura, "Come no closer."

Darkrai pulled back his hand slowly, his eye showing concern, "I only want to help you… I put the entire enemy force to sleep, so we could talk, and possibly avoid this unneeded bloodshed."

I didn't let my guard down, knowing about all of the lies and deception this pokemon was capable of, but Steelix growled at Darkrai. He looked at him, "Impressive. Mega Evolution… Makes for a powerful pokemon… Powerful pokemon mean powerful Dreams… Which mean more nightmares… More power for me..."

He reached his hand out to Steelix, and he immediately closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground, groaning in agony. Grovyle leapt off at the last second, and cried, "Steelix!"

Darkrai chuckled, "Oh, I do love that trick. It's too bad Cresselia isn't in this world. She was the first pokemon I took care of before I started my little conquest…"

Grovyle turned to him, "I'll kill you!"

Darkrai smiled, "Oh, I'd love to see you try, Grovyle. Even Connor wasn't a match for my power. What makes you think that you stand a chance?"

Grovyle's armor I made clicked to life and began glowing slightly, "Because I have to. I am the one of the prophecy."

Darkrai bellowed, "Hahaha! You think that the prophecy makes you invincible? I could erase you from existence, and that'll rid me of the problem!"

I advised him, with a hint of nervousness edging its way into my voice, "Grovyle… Don't."

Grovyle extended leaf blades that were glowing with the orange energy of victini, and he knelt into a fighting stance. "I don't care what you say… This pokemon must be destroyed."

Darkrai smiled, "Then so be it. I accept your challenge." He extended two small leg-like limbs from his lower body, and stood in front of Grovyle.

Grovyle leapt forward before I could stop him, and tackled Darkrai. They went sprawling, and Grovyle stabbed Darkrai in the chest with a leaf blade. I narrowed my eyes, "That was too easy…" I saw Darkrai's shadow appear behind him, and I shouted, "Grovyle, watch out!"

The Darkrai underneath him vanished, and the real Darkrai floated around Grovyle, using feint attack to hit repeatedly without missing.

I ran to help, but Darkrai erected a wall of dark energy around me, "You will not interfere, Connor. I'll handle you next."

I watched helplessly as Grovyle tried to swing, missing every time as Darkrai floated in circles around him, not even trying. I cried out, hoping to get Darkrai's attention, but nothing was fazing him. Grovyle threw a magical leaf attack, and it connected with Darkrai's arm, but he smiled, "You're weak, son of Basileus. Too bad it's all over now…"

Darkrai swung with a shadow claw, but it was intercepted by another leaf blade. I blinked, and Basileus had blocked it. Darkrai growled, "You dare interfere?!"

Basileus extended two vine whips, "You will not kill my son, Darkrai. You'll have to go through me."

Darkrai smiled, "I can do that. I'll take you down first. Let's see if you live up to your title!"

Darkrai rushed forward, and Basileus slid to the side as he wrapped a vine whip around Darkrai's wrist, and slammed him into the ground.

I watched, my heart racing in anxiety, unable to do anything. I tried to burst the bubble, but it was fruitless. Darkrai's dark energy was too powerful. It simply absorbed my aura, and nothing happened.

Darkrai growled and grabbed the vine whip, yanking it from Basileus' hand. Basileus let go of it, and leapt forward as Darkrai recovered from the tug. He kicked Darkrai's face, and I watched as he didn't relent, using leaf blades and kicks to keep Darkrai at bay. I knew that Darkrai was only toying with him… He could put Basileus to sleep as soon as it truly turned south for him.

Basileus was relentless, unleashing flurries of punches and kicks. Darkrai was blocking them, but he was struggling. Basileus began glowing slightly, and was enveloped in the purple sphere that marked mega evolution.

When it shattered, he was a foot taller, his tail more streamlined, and had red stripes running horizontally along the back. His head had grown several frills, and he roared, moving even faster. Darkrai was barely able to keep up, his fists moving in a blur of movement. Basileus smirked, "This is good... "

Darkrai smiled, "I couldn't agree more… You are very powerful… Sweet nightmares…"

Darkrai zapped Basileus with a dark bolt of energy faster than I could blink, and he fell to the floor, put into a nightmare. Darkrai smiled, panting slightly, "This will show you… All who oppose me… Face the same fate… Let your insurgo watch as their beloved Basileus meets death!"

The Insurgo had begun charging forward after seeing Basileus fighting, I guess, because they were already halfway across the valley before Darkrai erected a dark barrier in front of them, making a dome around the valley that separated them from us. Darkrai smiled, "Welcome, Insurgo! I am Darkrai, bringer of nightmares! True ruler of the hidden land! You will answer to me!"

I heard Tyranitar's voice echo above all else, "We will not serve you!"

Darkrai smiled, "I was hoping for that response. Now, you will see the fate of all that defy my will."

I watched in horror, unable to do anything as Basileus' limp body was lifted with Darkrai's psychic. Grovyle leapt at him, "No! I won't let you! Stop!"

Darkrai grinned cruelly, "You, Grovyle, will get the honor of front row!"

He slammed Grovyle back into the ground, and looked back at Basileus who was floating ten feet or so in front of him.

Grovyle tried to get up, but Darkrai held him down with psychic. He smiled, "Your agony feeds my power. The more you struggle, the more futile it is."

Grovyle closed his eyes tightly in pain, and Darkrai chuckled, "That's cute… Oh, tell you what, I'll make you watch…"

Grovyle's eyes were forced open with psychic, and he cried, "No… Please… He's all I have left..."

Darkrai's eye glinted, "And it'll make it that much sweeter for me when he is taken from you."

Darkrai turned back, "No more distractions!" He closed his hand, and Basileus' slumbering body stopped breathing. I reached out, and I saw the life fade… I fell to my knees in disbelief, and Darkrai let his limp body fall to the stone ground below, "This… Is what happens to those that oppose me!"

Grovyle was released from his psychic hold, and he tackled Darkrai, tears dripping from his face, "You dare to take my only family away from me?!"

Darkrai knocked him away, "You are surprisingly resilient… I expected that to crush your spirit, and make it easy to be rid of you for good…"

Grovyle leapt back up, throwing leaf blades at Darkrai, and then moving in with lightning fast speed as he shouted, tears streaking his face, "You made a horrible mistake, taking away my family! You will pay for this!"

I could tell that Darkrai was being strained, keeping the dark energy barrier around the insurgo up while fighting Grovyle.

He smiled, "I'll let you live, Grovyle… To let you suffer as you truly lose everything..." and he melted into the stone.

Grovyle bellowed, "You coward!" He punched the ground, cratering it, and he fell to his knees after the realization sunk in, "Dad… No… This can't be real..."

_Basileus is dead…? No last words or anything, just… Gone… How is that possible…?_

The dark energy bubble surrounding me and Lucario vanished, and Tropius and Steelix were awoken from their sleep. They woke up, and Steelix slithered over to Basileus. He nudged Basileus' body, which had de-evolved, and a tear fell from its eye, staying suspended in the air, frozen in time.

Grovyle walked over to his father, and scraped his hand along the ground next to him. Flowers of all different kinds sprouted from the stone, and he wept, "I love you, dad… I am so sorry…"

I knelt next to him, and placed my hand on his chest, feeling for life… But it was all gone. My eyes watered up, and the insurgo surrounded us, staring at the body of their fallen commander.

Grovyle fell to his knees, and leaned forward, looking into the ground. He stood up, looking to the clouds, "Are you pleased now, Arceus?! You given me enough motivation to change the world?! I've lost everything because of your stupid prophecy, and for what?!"

His face streaked with tears, he fell back to the ground, and continued to weep.

I had one tear fall from my eye, and I gritted my teeth. _I will kill you, Darkrai… After I make this world one of light. I'll keep you long enough to watch all that you've worked towards vanish._

Grovyle stayed head-down for a very long time before he moved. When he decided to move, I asked, "Grovyle… We should move before Dialga's army wakes up…"

Grovyle nodded, wiping a tear from his eye, and Victini flew next to me, "Connor… Back to Dragon Mountain?"  
I nodded, "Take us home, Victini. I will not go to war today…"

I heard the moaning of Dusknoir and Gengar, and a brilliant thought entered my head, _Alright, I'll bring along a couple prisoners..._

I felt his energy flow through me, and I focused, my aura so amplified by the emotion in my soul that I didn't even need to chant. We were all transported back to Dragon mountain.

* * *

**_Ugh... This chapter was a serious internal conflict of should I, or shouldn't I. I decided to go for it. I apologize for the huge cliffhanger, but I will do one more upload tomorrow morning. I hope you liked the chapter. Feel free to leave a quick Review or PM voicing your opinions on stuff. I will do my best to respond from my phone to any PMs while I'm out of town. Anywho, Much love, and I will see you all in the next update!_**

**_-PL_**


	25. The War of the Hidden Land

**-Chapter 25: The War of the Hidden Land-**

**-Connor's POV-**

When we arrived in the cavern of Dragon Mountain, I spoke to Victini, "Take Dusknoir and Gengar, have Gardevoir imprison them. Make sure that they don't escape…

Victini nodded, and flew off to find Gardevoir. I looked around at the shocked faces of my colleagues, and I bellowed, "We will be honoring our friend and leader, Basileus, in the amphitheater! Meet there in ten minutes!"

Grovyle looked heartbroken, and I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Grovyle… I… Listen, I…"

Grovyle moved my hand away, "I get it… Don't go giving me your sympathy."

I sighed, "Okay… I won't. But something is wrong… About this entire thing… Darkrai would never attack us directly… But he did… And won. How is that possible?"

Grovyle seethed with anger, "Of course something's wrong! You need to wake up from this fantasy you've been living in your head, where nothing bad will happen to us! Because you just cost my father his life!"

My anger and pain exploded in a shout, "You think that he wasn't important to me?! He was one of my best friends! You think that I would have simply _let _him die?! I've made a lot of mistakes, many of which I could have resolved myself, but don't go blaming me for this!"

Grovyle fell to his knees, "You could have stopped him… You could have gone aura titan, or something."

I shook my head, "Dakrai's energy barrier absorbed my power. I wasn't able to shoot an aura bolt, let alone go Aura Titan."

Grovyle turned to me, and the rage… The absolute loathing in his eyes made me nervous. He shook his head, "I'm leaving."

I gasped in shock, "W-what…? You're joking."

He scowled as he stood up, "My father's dead. I have no need to be here."

I shook my head, "How can you say that?! You're just going to leave, after all we've been through?!"

Grovyle nodded, "Yes. That's exactly what I'm going to do."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing… Grovyle was just… Leaving?

"Where are you going to go?"

He pulled out his wonder map, "Back to my home."

I tried to speak, but I didn't know what to say… Suddenly, and I mean out of nowhere, a Hariyama sprinted at me and slapped my face before I could raise a barrier, sending me sprawling onto the ground.

When I rolled back over, Grovyle was standing over me, "Connor! What the heck happened to you?" You were on your salamence, and you just fell asleep on the saddle! Hariyama used wake-up slap on you, but we were worried something had happened!"

I looked around, "Wha-?"

I rubbed my eyes, and glanced around at my teammates: Basileus… Lucario… Grovyle… The entire insurgo… We had just arrived at the base of the hill...

I stood up, "What the… No way… That was too real to be..."

_Darkrai… He was here… When I felt the chill in my spine… How did he put me in that nightmare...?_

Grovyle looked confused, "Connor, something happen to you while you dozed off?"

I rubbed the side of my face, a red mark from Hariyama's attack still on my cheek, "Just a bad dream…"

Basileus smiled, "Well, It'll have to wait. Dusknoir, Gengar, Golurk and Sableye are all out there already."  
I looked around in disbelief, _Did Darkrai put me in that nightmare? His hallucinations are too good…_

A tear forced its way out of my eye as the relief washed over me like a wave, and I smiled, "Let's get going..."

Grovyle nodded, and Lucario and Basileus took to the air on their flying pokemon alongside me. What Grovyle said in that dream actually made a lot of sense, though… It was true, I didn't think that we could ever be defeated… In my head, nothing bad would ever happen to us. I was only lying to myself. What Darkrai showed me is the truth… About what could possibly happen. We could very well lose this battle… What then? We'd lose, be driven back to Dragon Mountain, and be wiped out at the source?

I shook my head slightly, scolding myself, "That's enough thinking for today, Connor…"

Grovyle rode Steelix to the center of the valley, and I landed Salamence next to him. Dusknoir looked at us unwaveringly, and Gengar kept twitching, like he wanted to attack so badly that he could barely contain himself.

I dismounted the Salamence, and gave Basileus the mega ring, just like in the dream... I turned to our enemy, and sternly said, "Dusknoir…"

The big ghost was a full head and shoulders above me, but I stood up to him as he growled, "Human…"

"You know why we are here."

His stomach mouth smiled, "Yes… You wish to save your little group of pokemon from their unavoidable fate by proposing a deal with me."

I nodded, a sarchastic smirk across my face, "You're well informed, Dusknoir."

He scowled, "It'll take a lot more than flattery to persuade me. You must have something of great importance to give in return for calling off the Sableye."

I listened for Darkrai's voice, but it was silent. I smiled with relief, and Dusknoir scowled, "Does something amuse you, human?"

I smiled nonchalantly, "Yeah; It's funny that you think I'm going to just give you whatever you want. It'll depend… What do you want in return for calling off the war?"

Dusknoir pondered the question, "I will require that you turn yourself in…"

I frowned, "Not happening…"

He continued, ignoring my answer, "As well as Basileus and Grovyle… Lucario is not a threat to me at the moment…"

I smiled slyly, "Um, no. Thanks, but you'll just send them anyways, and wipe us out. I'd rather go down fighting than not at all."

Dusknoir's stomach mouth smiled, "You are unwise, human… Alright; You leave me no choice… Forward!"

He waved his arm, and three dozen sableye materialized in front of us from the shadows along the floor. I leapt onto Salamence, and took to the air as I placed the Salamencite, a mega stone for Salamence, into a ridge on its neck. It stuck like velcro, and Salamence was enveloped in the purple sphere that marked mega evolution. His wings melded together into a crescent moon shape, and he grew metal plating on his underside where he placed his front arms. I looked down, and Steelix had swatted the Sableye aside with one Iron Tail attack. I looked to our side of the Valley, and the insurgo had begun charging forward. I looked at Dialga's side, and the Sableye began charging down the hill. The Golurk manned the giant crossbows, and began aiming them at various targets… I watched as Gengar mega evolved and fought Lucario and Braviary, and I observed that Lucario had mega evolved as well.

I glanced at Dusknoir as I flew towards the crossbows, and he was fighting Basileus and Tropius at the same time.

Dusknoir's fists were enveloped in crystalline fire, which signaled an ice burn attack… That can't be good for either of them. Then, Basileus mega-evolved, and looked at himself for a moment before laughing, "So that's what the stone does… Cool…"

Tropius used aerial ace to slash at Dusknoir while he was occupied with Basileus, who was moving as fast as a rapidash due to his mega evolution. Steelix and Grovyle were tackling the Golurk, and they crushed it in a matter of seconds; It didn't stand a chance. Steelix knocked it over with Iron tail, and Grovyle planted a Seed bomb in the crack in its chest before backing away as it exploded.

I turned back to the Insurgo, and Mega Abomasnow charged down the hill ahead of all the others, and used blizzard, freezing the sableye in chunks of ice. Mega Charizard X flew overhead and melted the frozen monsters, leaving nothing but puddles of water.

I heard a light whistling noise, and I diverted my gaze back to the enemy. The golurk had released the arrows from the crossbows, and they were flying really fast…

One arced right over Salamence's head, and I had to duck to avoid it. I scowled, "We need to take care of those…

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I heard a whistling noise, and after the Golurk blew up, I saw what it was. The Golurk on top of the hill had launched the crossbows. I saw one out of the corner of my eye sail right over Connor, and before I looked back, Steelix toppled over. I looked at what happened, and his side was impaled with a giant arrow, the metal rod being as long as an Arbok.

Steelix righted itself, and growled weakly. I pulled on the arrow, the metal rod being so big around I couldn't even wrap my arms around it, but it was stuck in his diamond-hard skin… I cursed, "Steelix… Stay with me."

Steelix nodded weakly and laid its head down. I looked over him at the army advancing, and I frowned… I had to fight, or die… But I had to save Steelix; He couldn't die like this…

I heard movement behind me, and I turned to see Tyranitar behind me, glistening in the dim light after using rock polish. He wrapped his arms around the protruding hunk of metal, and pulled with all of his strength. Steelix roared with agony, and Tyranitar growled, "Hold on…"

Tyranitar was enveloped in the purple sphere of Mega Evolution. He grew again, with the multiple protrusions along his body, and repositioned himself. He yanked again, and Steelix was dragged along the ground as Tyranitar dug his heels into the stone. He growled, "Serrated arrows… Perfect…"

Steelix groaned, and Tyranitar whistled from a crevice on his chest. A skarmory landed next to him, and morphed into a machamp. Tyranitar quickly explained to the pokemon that I registered as Ditto, "You hold Steelix in place while I pull the arrow out…"

He pat Steelix's side, and he murmured, "This is going to hurt, buddy…"

Ditto placed himself underneath the arrow, digging two of his fists into the ground, making a brace of sorts. Tyranitar counted, "One, two, three!" He pulled against the arrow, and I heard it slicing Steelix's skin as it was pulled out… It was a horrible noise, and Steelix roared in pain, gritting its teeth together. Tyranitar frowned, "That is a nasty lookin' arrow…"

It was ten feet long, with a three foot long draconian Iron tipped arrow head with serrated edges… Steelix roared again, and I looked around for Connor… I saw Salamence flying towards the crossbows, and I cursed my luck.

_It's all up to me then… I won't let another die while I can help it..._

My mother had told me not to blame myself for death, but if Steelix died, it would be my fault… I had to heal him…

I placed my hand on the giant wound that was as large as my body, and my arm sunk into the wound that pierced his skin. I pulled it out quickly, his golden blood staining my exo-suit… Wait a minute…

I thought about it for a moment, "How do I activate the power boost thing…?"

Tyranitar shrugged, "I dunno, but we'll protect you while you figure it out."

Ditto nodded, and turned into a serperior, a long, elegant grass-type snake. Its red eyes paralyzed any pokemon looking directly at them, and they got on each side of Steelix, and held back any Sableye daring to get close.

I switched buttons on my armor, and I found one on my backside. I pressed it, and I felt power course through me… Unimaginable power. I was glowing orange, and I used mega drain on the nearest horde of Sableye. They all shriveled and melted into shadowy clouds, leaving behind only their crystalline eyes as evidence of their existence. The life energy I had drained filled me, and I transferred it to Steelix through a vine whip. The wound on his skin closed, and his breathing steadied. I smiled, "Good…"

Steelix shifted its eyes for me to get on, and he lifted his head up, filled with energy. I smiled, then I saw another arrow flying straight for us. Steelix saw it this time, and blocked it with the chunks of metal and stone orbiting his head. He condensed them into a wall in front of him, and the arrow ricocheted harmlessly off of the shield.

Tyranitar backed the sableye away with dragon tail, and Ditto as a Serperior used solar beam to mow down the entire enemy line.

Steelix was slithering along the ground, and I saw Connor riding Mega Salamence. Salamence's wings glowed green, and I heard a roaring sound coming from above the clouds. A giant rock surrounded by green flames was descending through the cloudline, and landed directly in the middle of the line of crossbows, exploding the ground. The meteor incinerated all of the forces on the hill. Connor shouted with joy, "Woohoo!"

I smiled, but realized that there were still thousands of sableye crawling through the valley, but Steelix just slithered over them all, while the insurgo fought them.

I looked back, and Dusknoir had beaten my father down. My dad's arm was frozen, much like mine, and Dusknoir's fiery fist was raised, "You will not see the future changed, Basileus…"

He swung down, but Tyranitar had sprinted and intercepted. Dusknoir recoiled, "Gah! You!"

Tyranitar smiled, "Yeah; Me. You're goin' down."

I leapt off of Steelix, and called back, "Keep mowing down Sableye!"

Steelix acknowledged, and slithered off, crushing the Sableye. Gengar's shadow tag erected a shadowy barrier around us all, so we couldn't flee, and Tyranitar was battling hand to hand with Dusknoir.

I ran over to my dad, "Dad… You can regrow limbs like I can… You have to trust me."

His arm was limp, and he grimaced due to the frost spreading up his arm, but he nodded. I extended a leaf blade from my wrist, breathing heavily, and I looked at his eye… He nodded, "Do it…"

I swung down, my leaf blade cleaving through the ice like it was air. His arm fell off, shattering against the stone ground, and he gasped, his eye wide. He laid on the ground, and his feet extended roots, and he sighed with relief as the energy was restored with ingrain. A vine extended from the stump of his arm, and it thickened, becoming just like his other arm.

I smiled, "Good… Let's help Tyranitar." His feet-roots retracted, and he nodded as he rolled his shoulder out in an attempt to recalibrate it, "Yes, let's."

We charged Dusknoir, but then a shadow ball was launched in front of us, bringing us to a halt. We heard maniacal laughter, and Gengar appeared from our shadows.

He used sucker punch on my father, and grinned, "Surprise!"

My dad shook it off, and he looked to me. I nodded, and focused on my body again. Then I remembered what Connor had said earlier about my exo-suit.

_**It grounds you to this dimension, to prevent any of the stupid Golurk from zapping you to an alternate reality.**_

I sighed, "No shadow-travelling... Fantastic…"

Gengar appeared behind us, and slashed at my dad, who countered with a leaf blade, parrying the strike, then slashing with his other hand. Gengar phased through it, and laughed, "How does that even work? You can't kill a ghost!"

My dad cooly replied, "Well, from what I heard, Celebi almost killed you by using ancient power. One of the weaker rock-type moves. How do you explain that?"

Gengar hesitated, and my dad stepped inwards as he pinned Gengar with pitch-black vines. Gengar strained against the bonds, but he couldn't phase out of them for some reason.

My dad walked up coolly, "Give up now, Gengar. I don't want to kill you."

Gengar sneered, "You don't have the nerve to kill me. You're weak!"

He extended a leaf blade down to Gengar, "Try me."

Gengar's eyes showed fear, but then he vanished. Gone in a poof of steam. My dad backed away, "Blast! Substitute!"

Gengar appeared behind him, "Surprise! Copycat!"

He extended a shadowy blade that looked just like a leaf blade, and stabbed at my father's back. He swatted it aside with his tail, and raised his arms quickly. I saw vines erupt from the ground, followed by wooden limbs that twisted into odd shapes, coming together. Then I remembered; He had let me face these when I was way younger, like a few months after I was born.

They solidified into humanoid shapes, and he extended a leaf blade again, and swung his arm down. These plant warriors moved like real pokemon, fast and deadly. Gengar spit toxic onto one, but it coated its body with a thick case of wood, and discarded it as the toxic dissolved the wooden shell were six warriors, and my dad smiled weakly, "It's over, Gengar…"

The plant warriors sprinted forward, sticks sharpened and leaf blades extended, moving towards him with their wooden skeletons supported by vines for muscles. Gengar slashed them down with shadow claw, but they just put themselves back together again like skeletons, and kept advancing. My dad turned to me, "Go help Tyranitar. I'll handle Gengar."  
I smiled, thanking Gengar for his shadow tag ability, which turned our little battle into an arena free of Sableye.

I sprinted to Tyranitar, who was hurting pretty badly. Dusknoir was winning, by the looks of it, and Tyranitar was on the ground. Dusknoir floated over him, "You really think that you stood a chance? I am Lord Dialga's right hand pokemon! It will take more than a dark type to bring me down!"

Tyranitar rolled over, "Gah… Dusknoir, you…"

Dusknoir bellowed, "Silence!"

His fist slammed into Tyranitar's chest, and he grunted in pain. I tackled Dusknoir right afterwards, "No! Dusknoir, stop!"

Dusknoir shook me off, and roared, "You?!"

I smirked, "Surprised to see me?"

He got over his surprise quickly, and his hands burst into flames, "I will burn you to ash, Grovyle!"

I was kind of caught off guard by his harsh comment, but I got over it. _This isn't dusclops… You have to kill or be killed…_

I used vine whip to back him into the shadowy dome, and he growled, "You've been a thorn in my side for too long, Grovyle… This ends today!"

His eye glowed slightly, and a small ball of light floated from his eye. My attention went to the orb, and I couldn't look away… Then it vanished, and when I looked back, the entire world was spinning in circles. All I saw was spinning, distorted images. I groaned, and vomited a little bit, but I managed to pull a lum berry from my wonder bag and chomp down on it.

Just in time, too; Dusknoir swung down with a fiery frosted hand, and I leapt out of the way with a speed boost from my exo-suit. It barely skimmed my arm, but the point of contact exploded into pain, and my vision went red. I stared at my arm, which blistered underneath a crystalline layer of flaming ice.

Dusknoir smiled, "I have mastered the art of combining moves… I have fire so cold it burns. Your flesh is weak, even with your armor protecting you."

I stood up and swung at him as he charged an attack, sinking my leaf blade into his stomach, but he laughed, "payback!"

His shadow extended, and a giant fist emerged from it, and slammed me into the dome. My exo-suit protected me from any serious damage, but it still hurt. My arm was the problem… I was losing feeling in it again, and I didn't want to push my luck with regenerating another limb…

Dusknoir's stab wound closed up, and his hand twitched, "Grovyle… Treecko… You were… What…"

He looked confused, then his serious expression took over again, and he boomed, "Your time is over!"

His mouth stomach opened, and he began pulling in everything around him as he charged a shadow ball. I planted my feet using ingrain, and began gathering the dim light around me. I condensed it into a sphere, and I hit the button that gave me a power boost, "I'm sorry, Dusknoir…"

The shadow ball grew larger, and I charged up my solar beam until the last second, and I launched the beam of light straight into his open stomach mouth.

It hit the ball of shadows, and dissipated it, pushing it back into him. He groaned, "Groooohhhh!" as the shadowy energy was shot back into him. He fell to the ground, crackling with spectral energy, as he forced himself to breathe, every inhale paining him. I strode over to him, and extended a leaf blade to the back of his neck. "Make a move, Dusknoir…"

He laid down, not attempting to get up, and I nodded, "Good move."

I glanced over to Gengar, who was being held with my dad's plant warriors, and I smiled. My dad had him detained, and Gengar de-evolved, allowing free passage of any pokemon. It hadn't occurred to me that we couldn't see what went on outside of the bubble, but when it vanished, all of the sableye were killed, and from what I could see, none of the pokemon from the Insurgo had been downed.

I shook my head in disbelief, "How'd we pull that off?"

I heard a slight fluttering noise behind me, and I turned to face Celebi. She smiled, "My dear Grovyle… I am glad to find that you are alright."

I nodded, "Same here, Celebi… What happened out there? How'd we beat them?"

Celebi shrugged, "Well, Mega Swampert obliterated the battlefield with surf, Xatu teleporting everybody out of harms' way, and Connor used draco meteor to take care of the golurk and the stupid machines… Oh, and one of the sons of Arceus helped us… I think it was Xerneas…"

I looked around at the battlefield, not familiar with the name, and I asked, "Who didn't make it…?"

Celebi grinned, "Xerneas is the life-giving pokemon. We won, without a single death..."

I shook my head, grinning, "Seriously?! That's great!"

She nodded, and I turned back to Dusknoir, "So, what of Dusknoir?"

Connor landed next to me, Salamence landing next to him, "Dusknoir is coming with us. Same with Gengar."

Dusknoir swatted my leaf blade aside with lightning speed, and melted into shadows after loathingly replying, "Not today, Insurgo scum…"

He froze the plant warriors with blizzard, blasting the subzero chilled air at them. Gengar broke through their bonds, and melted into shadows, disappearing.

Celebi cursed, "How'd he survive a solar beam to the face?!"

I shook my head, "I don't know… But we won!"

Celebi seemed troubled by something, and she looked to the hill that was blasted apart, but she put on a smile again.

Connor looked to the insurgo, who were celebrating over their victory, and I felt rumbling coming from the ground. Connor felt it as well, because he shouted, "Everyone! It's not over!"

We turned back to the hill, and at least a dozen onix broke through the ground, more sableye pouring out of the freshly carved holes like durants from a nest, and Connor turned to Salamence, but he hesitated, "That Draco meteor took a lot out of you, huh…?"

The Salamence laid its head on the ground, and Connor growled, "Great…"

I felt a tingling sensation in my body, like when you get goosebumps, except this was a thousand times more powerful… Celebi and Connor, and even Salamence felt it. It flew away, back to the mountain, and Celebi whispered, "Oh, no…"

I saw what she meant a moment later as I turned around. Dialga himself strode over the crest of the hill, his red veins glowing with chaos, and he roared, a force so loud it made exploud seem like it was a whisper in the wind. It cracked the stone thirty feet in front of him, and he charged forward, unaware of the sableye he was trampling underfoot.

He glared at me, and Connor shook me out of my paralysis, "Grovyle… Take Celebi, and run. Don't argue. I'll take the time lizard."

Connor called for victini, and the little orange pokemon floated down to him, grabbing on to his sleeve. Connor was filled with orange energy, and he curled into a ball shape, groaning from straining to do something that I didn't feel like sticking around for.

Celebi grabbed my hand, and we sprinted away as Connor's body was surrounded by a massive blue aura bubble. It imploded, making a suction noise, then it exploded, and a twenty-foot tall blue outlined swampert appeared from inside of it.

It was translucent, and I could see Connor in the center of it, so it was like a phantom extension of himself…

He charged forward, tackling the lord of time head on. Dialga roared, and the ground underneath Connor erupted into lava, exploding the melted stone into the air. Connor's right front leg sunk into the molten stone, and dialga used ice beam to re-solidify the lava, trapping Connor's arm in the ground. He used dragon tail, knocking Connor's aura titan through the air. Dialga used ancient power relentlessly, smashing boulders into the giant Swampert, but then Connor retaliated with hammer arm, shattering the boulders and denting Dialga's armor. I heard the snap of giant, metallic bones, and Dialga roared in pain. Dialga stood back, not saying a word, and from its mouth shot a beam of red and blue energy. I felt time slow down as the beam was shot, and it hit Connor dead on.

The explosion knocked all of us over, and when I looked back, Connor was standing there, his arms crossed, seemingly unscaved. A blue shield faded from in front of him, and the aura swampert smirked as Dialga was frozen from the recoil of using roar of time, and Connor used this opportunity to charge forward as he used earth power. He slammed the ground, and Dialga sunk up to its knees in the molten stone. Connor used headbutt to knock Dialga over, and then began glowing purple, and slammed the ground, shaking the entire valley. The very ground heaved, and became uneven, throwing all of us off.

Dialga stayed down after several hits, and the Swampert nodded once before huffing and turning around.  
Dialga was surrounded by a green aura, and righted itself faster than I could blink before using iron tail to knock Connor's aura titan to the ground. Connor struggled to get up, and Dialga blasted him with roar of time again...

I waited for the blast to dissipate, but the Sableye were on top of us almost. Steelix had formed a barrier around us and used protect, but it wasn't going to last very long. Celebi murmured, "We can stop this…"

I turned to her, "What?!"

She said slightly louder, "We can stop this!"

I raised my arms, "How? The lord of Time is battling Connor, and now he's winning! What can we do?"

She smiled nonchalantly, "Connor will win. It's his destiny to survive to get to the past."

I looked around at Steelix' body enveloping us, and I called out, "Use rollout to get us out of here!"

Steelix glanced at me, and began shifting his body as he prepared to position himself into a ball shape. I grabbed Celebi, and encased both of us in a wooden sphere while Steelix enveloped us with his serpentine body.

It was dark in the sphere, so I used flash to see inside of the cocoon. Celebi clung to my arm, and the sphere began moving, which I presumed meant that Steelix had begun his rollout attack.

We were tumbling around for a little bit before stopping, and I heard Steelix hiss through its nostrils. I unraveled the wooden cocoon, and I looked around at where we were. We were back at the crest of the hill where we began.

I gasped, "No… We have to go back!"

Steelix groaned as it rolled its eyes, and lowered its head as we climbed up. He began slithering forward, and picked up speed on his way. I pointed to Dialga and Connor, who were still going at it, although by the looks of it, Dialga was winning. Connor's aura was flickering in and out of focus, and I could tell it was straining him to keep it up.

I shouted, "Steelix, help Connor! Celebi, help the others where needed."

I leapt off of Steelix, who blind sided Dialga with a body slam before wrapping his body around Dialga's legs, tripping him while Connor knocked him over.

I charged towards Tyranitar, who was fighting a Golurk, and I leapt onto its back as I extended leaf blades from my wrists. I sliced its head clean off, and the glow faded from its eyes as it collapsed into a pile of clay shards.

Tyranitar looked down to me, "Thanks."

I smiled, "No problem."

He glanced behind me and used dragon pulse, a blue beam of energy from his mouth, and I turned as a horde of Sableye were incinerated.

I heard a screeching noise, and Lucario and Braviary were destroying the Sableye, Braviary swatting them down with a series of hurricane attacks while Lucario launched aura spheres that were as big as I was into the golurk, shattering them on impact.

I turned around again, and a sableye crawled up to me slowly. I extended my leaf blades, and he backed away, enveloped in a purple sphere, the gem on its chest expanding in front of it. I sighed with relief, "You're the one that helped us…"

He nodded, poking out from behind his crystal.

I smiled, "Help us again, and start attacking the other Sableye."

He nodded quickly and darted off into the sarm of Sableye, who didn't even bother attacking him. He began glowing, and the sableye around him began screeching, blinded by the intense light.

I took that opportunity, as did Tyranitar and my dad. We all charged, Tyranitar smashing them all with an iron tail, and my father and I taking out any remaining sableye with seed bombs.

The Mega Sableye that used flash smiled, obviously pleased with his performance, and my dad nodded, "Keep going. That is an effective strategy."

The Sableye nodded as it darted off to the next group, running into the middle of them and using flash while we took them all down efficiently, and with little resistance.

We were on the last big group, and the Sableye ran into the middle of it, but then was sent rocketing back towards us. I felt a really horrible tingling sensation, like a Terror orb, but I held my ground.

Tyranitar caught the sableye, and set him down. His crystal was cracked, and he pointed towards the crowd of Sableye as he de-evolved, melting into a puddle of shadows, signaling his death, "Dusknoir…"

* * *

**A long final Chapter, for you people. I couldn't leave it at Basileus' death, that would just be cruel.**

** Anywho, hope you enjoyed, if you did, feel free to leave a quick review or PM, and I will see you in a couple weeks! Much Love!**

**-PL**


	26. Death of the Time Keeper

**-Chapter 26: Death of the Time Keeper-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I turned, and Dusknoir floated through the little purple pokemon, his gaze piercing my very being, making me shift uncomfortably, sending a tingling sensation down my spine. He must have used a terror orb or something, because every fiber of my being screamed at me to run.

I walked forward, and Dusknoir's stomach mouth grinned, "Grovyle… You're still alive..."

_Yeah… He already knows that… He saw me on Dragon Mountain…_

He pondered on his last statement, "I wonder how that is so… Giratina would never let a soul out without some form of payment… One soul in exchange for another… Oh, how about her?" He raised his hand, and in his clenched fist, Celebi croaked, "Grovyle... Go- Urk!"  
He clamped his fist down harder, and her breathing shortened, "Go!"

I took a step forward, and Dusknoir smiled as he held her out, "Is she important to you…?"  
I scoffed, "No… Of course not. I don't have 'friends'."  
I made sure to accent the last word, but Dusknoir shrugged, "You don't sound too sure, but so be it…"  
A flame began creeping down his arm, towards Celebi's face, and he stared at me, waiting for me to make a move…

If I did, then he would know that she was important, and keep her as a bargaining chip… But if I didn't…

I finally broke as the flame was a few mere inches from her face, "Stop."  
The flame dissipated, and Dusknoir smiled, "So… She is…" Celebi's eyes were filled with tears, and she pleaded with me through telepathy, "Go… Don't worry about me!"  
The Sableye behind him snickered, and he rolled his eye, "One soul in exchange for another. Do you know what I do as a Dusknoir?"  
I shook my head, broken, feeling so helpless as he held the most important pokemon in my life, behind my dad, in his grip.

He gloated, "I take spirits to the distortion world. That is my duty as a Dusknoir. Ghost types don't have spirits, which makes for easy cleanup when you slaughter the sableye in troves like your blasted insurgo does… But even legendary pokemon… As fragile as this little Celebi… "  
He placed one finger on her cheek, and her eyes glowed with psychic energy, forcing him to slap his face with his own hand.

He growled, clamping down so hard that she was knocked unconscious, "Even they have souls… Theres are much more valuable to Giratina than a measly Grovyle… Hers would not be sufficient payment… Yours is not worth nearly as much."  
He tossed her aside, and my dad leapt through the air, catching her before she hit the ground, and Dusknoir scowled, but turned back to me, "What do you plan to do?"  
I smiled, "Well, now that Celebi's out of your hand, I'm going to fight you. Right here, right now."  
Dusknoir laughed, "You're funny, Grovyle… What are you without that contraption around your body? Just a Grovyle. You are weak. You're beneath my concern."  
I shrugged, "What's the matter? Afraid you'll lose?"  
The Sableye began murmuring, and Dusknoir turned around as he snarled, "Blast! I do not have time for this, so I'll make it quick… Remove your armor, and I will fight you."  
I pressed the button on my wrist, and the suit loosened its grip from around my body, and I stepped out of it.

It stayed standing upright, and Dusknoir smiled, "Let's see how well you do against me… I have always been your superior, Grovyle. You were too weak to serve Dialga."  
My dad turned to me, "Grovyle… Don't."  
I heard a rumbling noise, and Dusknoir melted into shadows after glancing past me. I melted into shadows too, and I watched as Dialga slid along the ground where I was standing a moment before. My dad and Tyranitar had evaded, and Connor's aura had solidified, becoming stronger than ever. I saw Victini inside of the swampert alongside Connor, and I figured he must be giving him the power boost.

Dusknoir's voice chorused in the shadow dimension, "I will kill you, Grovyle!"  
I re-materialized, evading Dusknoir's shadow punch, and he reappeared in front of me, and used mean look. The face on his stomach contorted into a wicked face, and I couldn't move. He smiled as he grabbed my body, and began squeezing with an icy fist.

He mocked, "Regenerate this…"  
My chest began freezing over, my breathing hurt, and I felt the icy crystals sink into my organs. My heart rate accelerated, beating faster and faster, until I felt a shard of Ice pierce it. I gasped, and Dusknoir dropped me to the stone floor. My chest broke open, splitting into a web of cracks, and I groaned in pain, _I can't die like this… Giratina wouldn't revive me again…_

Dusknoir knelt beside my body, and looked at my eyes, "You always were weak…"  
My heart began pounding even harder, and my vision was red from the scraping of Ice against my beating heart. I was shivering intensely, my breath frosted over, and Dusknoir sighed, "Humph… I expected you to make a final attempt to get up in spite of the pain. Looks like I was wrong…"  
I looked at him, but my vision was going blurry. He smiled, "I see your life fading… It won't be long now…"  
_Where is my dad, or tyranitar?! Anybody!_

Dusknoir chuckled, "They can't help you… Nobody can."  
Pretty soon, his voice faded, and I was floating through the void. It was dark all around me, but I could see myself clearly.

Then, a strange figure appeared from the darkness. He was pitch black, blending in to his surroundings perfectly, except for his white hair and red neck frill. He had a narrow waist, and big clawed hands. His hair covered one eye, and the eye that I could see was electric blue as he smiled, "Welcome, Grovyle…"  
I turned, looking around, "What is this place?"  
The pokemon looked sorry for me, and continued, "You… Are dead, unfortunately."  
I shook my head, "That didn't answer my question. And besides, I've been to the distortion world before, and I've never seen you! Who are you?"  
He bowed slightly, "Oh, forgive my incompetence, I am Darkrai."  
I shook my head again in realization, "You're the one that caused this world to be the way it is! What do you want?!"  
He backed away slightly, "I am offended that you would just jump to conclusions like that… Who would have told you such a thing?"  
I sternly replied, "Connor the human."  
He seemed utterly confused, "A human? What is a human doing in this world?"  
I shouted, "You know good and well what he's doing here! Stop playing games with me!"  
His eye glowed slightly, but he collected himself again as he continued, "I am doing no such thing. I am here to offer my assistance."  
I glared at him, "What assistance? I'm dead, and I'll find my way back, just like last time."  
He waved his hand, "That's the best part! All you have to do is agree to my offer, and you won't have to go through all of that painful soul reattaching business. Bleh."  
He sort of piqued my curiosity, so I decided to ask very cautiously, "What offer…?"  
He floated around me, "Simple! I want you to help me! That's all there is to it!"  
I pressed further, "Help you what?"  
His eye showed sadness, and he shifted his body, and the entire scene changed to the battlefield. There was so much death… Tyranitar, Galvantula, Connor… My dad, and Celebi…

I shook my head, "No… That's impossible…"  
Darkrai looked to the ground, pain in his eyes, "I am afraid that that is the reality in which you are going to go back to should you be revived the traditional way. I offer you a second chance. You help me change this world into one without Dialga, and in return, I will grant you a second chance to save those you love… I'll bring you back a day before, so you know what to do to avoid this war..."  
I shook my head, "I'm not buying it."  
Darkrai seemed confused at that remark, "Hm?"  
I smirked, "I've read all about you… How you use dreams to make others experience real sensations, and manipulate them to do your bidding by making empty promises. You're not fooling me."  
His eye glowed brighter than before, and he raised his arms, "Blast! If you will not join me, then you must perish! You cannot go to the past!"  
He rushed at me, and I couldn't move. The shadows were holding me down, and suddenly a Hypno appeared in front of me, and knocked Darkrai back with a psychic barrier. He turned back to me, "You alright, Grovyle?"  
I nodded, shocked by his presence, "Yeah… How'd you get here?"  
He shrugged, "Drowzee and I can get into dreams and stuff, to see what's going on. Yours is pretty jacked up by the looks of it."  
Darkrai righted himself, and snarled, "We will meet again, Grovyle…" as he sunk into the inky background of my dream.

The darkness faded, and Celebi was fluttering over me when I opened my eyes. She gasped, "Oh, my gosh! You had me worried sick!"  
I looked at her eyes, taking in her sweet voice, "He didn't capture you?"  
She snapped back, "Who's 'he'?" She shook her head in disregard of her last statement, "Of course not! Who's been giving you aguav berries?"

I stood up, "Nobody… It was a weird dream, to say the least… Darkrai made it convincing…"  
Celebi pursed her lips, "I didn't sense any malevolent energy outside of Dusknoir… But Tyranitar took care of him rather quickly. He retreated, along with the Sableye… Connor beat Dialga, and they all retreated as well…

I looked around, seeing the whole insurgo gathered around me, "I wasn't asleep for that long. It was maybe like five minutes, tops!"  
Celebi looked to the ground, "Grovyle… You were dead. For a good while, too…"

My face paled, and I shook my head, "It was only a dream! I couldn't have died in a dream!"  
Hypno interrupted, "If it's real enough, then your body could compare the mental pain to actual physical pain, and you could die… But it'd take a heck of a powerful hypnosis spell to do that."  
I nodded, "Darkrai is _the_ nightmare pokemon. It's pretty much in his description to do stuff like that."  
Hypno nodded, "He sounds like a nasty piece of work…"  
Celebi nodded, and grimaced slightly, "What did you dream about?"  
I replied with another question, "What happened after I passed out?"  
She looked into the middle distance, probably trying to recall what all had happened, and she replied, "Um, pretty much as soon as Sableye pointed to Dusknoir, you collapsed."  
_That whole fight was a dream? Darkrai is good at making those seem like real life, especially the transitions between dreams and reality… How the heck do I not recall passing out?_

I replied, "Pretty much, I battled dusknoir because he captured you, and then I lost, and died. Then Hypno rescued me."  
Celebi nodded, "That sounds quite- Urk!"  
She clutched at her side, and fell to the ground. I caught her in midair and examined the area that she grabbed at. She had a shadowy spike driven into her lower side, near her leg, and I tried to pull it out, but my hand just phased through it like it wasn't there. Same with the metal surrounding my hand.

Her eyes were full of pain, and she groaned, "It sounds quite stressful..."  
I shook my head, "No, no, no… This isn't happening… When did you get cursed!?"  
The spike's shadowy poison spread around her body, her veins glowing red suddenly, signaling a curse, and she reached for my head weakly, "My dear Grovyle… You must go to the past… I grant you my power…"  
She closed her eyes, and a green energy pulsed from her, into me as she gasped for another breath.  
I shook my head, "No, I can't do this alone! I need you, Celebi! Don't you dare leave me!"  
She smiled, and clutched at her side, "I'm sorry, my dear Grovyle… That I could not see our mission through 'till the end… Go to the past with my power..."  
I shouted, tears streaming down my face, "No! You aren't going to leave me! Stop!"

She exhaled one final time, and I turned to Hypno, "This is just a dream!"  
He shook his head, tears in his eyes, "I'm sorry, Grovyle..."  
I shook Celebi lightly, and her body was limp in my arms. I murmured, "C-Celebi…?"  
She didn't respond, and I said a little louder, "Celebi?"  
The color drained from her face until it was a pale pink, like a ghost, and Connor landed next to me, without saying a word, and placed a hand on her wound, and it closed up tightly around the needle. I looked at him hopefully, but Connor shook his head, his lips shut tight, tears in his eyes.

I shook my head in disbelief, "No… She can't be- Not after all we've gone through! You can't just leave me!"  
Connor grabbed my shoulder, "Grovyle… Her life force is gone..."  
I knocked his hand away, "Don't you say that! There has to be a way to get her back! This is just another nightmare conjured up by Darkrai! She couldn't be-!"  
I looked at her eyes shut tight, and I couldn't stop the tears from welling up, "Celebi…"  
Galvantula came up beside me, pushing aside some of the other insurgo, "Hey, hey, hey! Xernias… Seriously, are we lucky, or what? Oh… Hold on, can I see her for a sec?"  
I hesitated, and he teased, "C'mon… I'm not going to do anything that you won't like…"  
I set her on a leafy bed I grew then and there, holding her hand, and Galvantula smiled, "Watch this, guys…"  
He began glowing slightly, his fur sticking out like quills, and he pulled two out. He stuck them into Celebi's side, and fidgeted with them until the shadowy needle was removed entirely. The wound healed itself, and the color returned to Celebi slightly.  
Galvantula rubbed two of his arms together, and shouted, "Clear!" As he pressed down on her chest. She gasped, her eyes flying wide open, and he backed away as she breathed so loud that Steelix heard it from his position several feet behind me, signaled by a surprised hiss through its nostrils as it turned its head to us, and he beamed, "Alright! It worked!"  
Connor turned to him, surprise in his eyes, "What did you do?"

He replied, "I read in the human scrolls that their doctors, when somebody is stabbed with some kind of thing, they remove it, and then if the person died recently, they administer a huge electric shock, to jump-start the heart again. I read Celebi's bioelectric signature, and I figured out that she went into like an unbearable pain stress mode, where the curse made her heart stop, but as soon as the curse was lifted, there was nothing keeping it stopped, so I shocked the crap out of it, hoping it would work. All my stored up electricity is gone now, so I'm glad it only took one zap."  
I hugged him so tight, he gasped, "You're kind of crushing my face, G…"  
I backed up, "Sorry…" I turned to Celebi, who looked around confused, and she saw me, "Grovyle…?"  
I picked her up, not even caring about what was going on around me, and I kissed her. She closed her eyes again, and floated in front of me with her renewed strength.  
I heard my father's voice behind me, "Well, well, well…"  
I turned around quickly, and he was still mega evolved, so I had to look up at him quite a bit, "Dad! I, uh…"  
He smiled, and cut me off, "I'm glad to see that you've found a pokemon that is worthy of your affection, Grovyle."  
Celebi gleamed, glowing brightly, and I thought about what he just said… _Worthy…? What's that supposed to mean?  
_My dad hugged me, shaking me out of my thoughts as he de-evolved, "I love you, my son… If only Briar could see the fine pokemon you've become..."

I smiled, "Mom would be proud of you, too. Taking on Gengar like that…"  
He wiped a tear from his eye, and laughed slightly, "She would have finished him off before I could even land a hit. She actually saved me, then Connor saved both of us, way back when… It seems so long ago… She was my superior, as much as I loathe to admit." He laughed warmly, "I love your mother so much…"  
Connor stepped forward, "So… We need to head back, and prepare to travel to the past…"  
Galvantula ran up to him, "After the party!"  
Connor looked down to him, "What?"  
Galvantula stood on two legs, now being up to Connor's chin, "You said that if we win the great war, I can coordinate a huge dance party! I didn't forget!"  
Connor chuckled, "So I did… But we need to postpone it, I'm afraid…"  
Galvantula's shoulders drooped, "Whaaaat..."  
Connor looked sad, but he continued, "We have to get to the past as soon as possible… Dialga will find the passage of time soon enough, and when he does, he will destroy it, and then there will be no way to get to the past. I'm afraid that there is no time to celebrate..."  
Galvantula shrugged, "Oh, well… When you get back, then!"  
Connor nodded, "Yes. That, I promise."  
The pokemon around me cheered, and Celebi smiled as she floated next to me, and Connor raised his arms, teleporting us to Dragon Mountain.

* * *

**_I am back! And with yet another chapter! I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and let me know how things are going! For those of you that are like, _**

**_'what? He was gone?' then good for you! It's nice to be back to uploading! Let me know how this chapter went with a quick review or PM, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love! _**

**_-PL_**


	27. Journey to the Past, A World of Light

**-Chapter 27: Journey to the Past, A World of Light-**

**-Celebi's POV-**

I don't think I've ever been happier… And that's saying a lot. This timeline was so unlike any other I've tried… Every other one resulted in a ton of death and suffering, and nobody really cared about me like they did here… This one only had a few deaths and most of the time they were illusions or dreams, or in my case, only temporary. It was so weird… In a good way. These pokemon all treated each other like family, including me. It was nice. And honestly, I didn't recall ever even seeing gengar, so I presumed that a Sableye used curse on me while I was fighting off the hordes from my dear Grovyle while he was asleep from Darkrai's hypnosis spell.

Anywho, after Connor transported us out of the valley, we all were brought back into the main chamber, Steelix was taking up the most room, and Machamp got stuck underneath him. He hefted Steelix up and off of him, and the female and children pokemon greeted their mates/fathers with hugs and kisses. Connor raised a platform towards one wall of the cavern, "Insurgo! The time has come to travel to the past! So, get some rest, for Basileus will be training you in my absence! You're dismissed!"

The pokemon all filed off to their rooms, and Connor nodded as he floated down to me and Grovyle.

He looked at the both of us, and gestured to the sloped path that lead to the web of platforms leading to the rooms, "Go on, get some rest. It'll be a long time before you get a good nights' sleep once we go to the past."

Grovyle looked at me, "So… See you later?"

I smiled, taking his hand, "You will, my dear Grovyle… Now go rest…"

Grovyle nodded, and hesitantly let go, as if to make sure I wasn't going to disappear.

He turned, and charged up a jump, amplified by his armor. He disappeared over a platform, and Connor turned to me, "What really happened when you died?"

I smiled nervously, "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

He nodded, "Very little passes me up without my realization. Your body was dead, that I sensed… But how did your spirit come back so soon, and without Giratina allowing it?"

I sighed, "There is something special… About what Galvantula did… I can't quite pinpoint what it was… The shock brought my body back, but…"

I found that as I tried to remember, I forgot more and more… I continued, "I did transfer a fraction of my power to Grovyle, that much I know… But my soul… How did that…"

Connor quietly dismissed it, "Okay… Don't go pushing yourself trying to remember. You're back, and that's what matters."

I smirked nonchalantly, and Connor replied, "Go hang out with Grovyle while I'm getting prepared."

I smiled, "Will do."

_My dear Grovyle… You have a piece of me inside of you now… We are bonded, between time and darkness…_

I decided to take the scenic route and walk around the platforms to get to Grovyle's room. My feet got tired after a moment, but I toughed it out, criticizing myself, "You're getting weak, Celebi. Relying too much on your wings to move around…"

I kept walking, muscling through the pains in my legs, and Tyranitar walked past me, "What's up, Celebi?"

I smiled, "Just going to hang out with Grovyle before we go to the past."

Tyranitar nodded, "Alright. Have fun."

I waved, and kept walking along the stone floors… There were so many. I guess I never really realized how much walking all the pokemon here did…

I finally made it to Grovyle's room, and I brushed the vines aside. He was adjusting his hammock, and he called back without turning his head from his work, "Hello, Celebi."  
I smiled as I flew forward, the weight on my legs lifted from beneath me, and landed next to him, "Hello, my dear Grovyle… I was just wanting to spend some time together before we go to the past…"

He nodded, "Yeah… Okay. Hold on, I just need to finish stringing this up…"

I glanced around, and I saw his armor propped against the wall. He seemed to like the free feeling, because he was moving a lot, even more so than normal.  
He shot a vine from his wrist like a kecleon's tongue, and it stuck to the wall. He cut it with a leaf blade, and tied it around the leaf that suspended the hammock. He tugged on the vine, and after making sure it was secure, he leapt up onto it. It swayed slightly, but he laid back in it, and smiled, "Just got done readjusting it. After I evolved, I hadn't had time to fix it, due to all the stuff going on."

I nodded, "Well, I hope you made it spacious enough for two?"

He smirked, "Actually, I did."

When I first met him, I would have squealed like a little girl if he offered me a seat next to him, mostly because I hadn't told him how I felt, and I had a huge crush on him, but after the thing with Uxie and my mental breakdown, things sort of worked themselves out… And I figured out that having a crush on somebody is not the same as loving them. I was afraid that I didn't love him for the longest time… I'm glad to finally experience the sensation of having somebody that cares that deeply for me… For the first time since my existence.

I hopped up next to him, and he leaned back, staring into the moss-starred roof. I looked at him with admiration, and his pupil shifted to look at me. He smiled, "Wow… This is so cool…"

I continued looking into his eyes, "What is?"

He shrugged in an indecisive manner, "I dunno… The whole situation of this timeline, and how I get to fix it, and that my best friend is a pokemon that can walk through time..."

I leaned onto him, "My dear Grovyle… You are the bravest pokemon I have ever met… And that's saying a lot."

He laughed, "Thanks, Celebi… I'm the bravest I know too."

I hit his arm lightly, "Shut up."

He let out a warm chuckle, and stared into the ceiling in silence.

I couldn't help but blush when I looked at the stupid wood gecko, and he blushed too. I thought we were past this stage, but I guess not. He quickly cleared his throat, and continued, "So… What d'you want to do?"

I let a smile set across my face again, " I just want to spend some time with you before we save the world."

He shrugged, "Alright… So, anything you want to talk about?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, and questioned, "Do you know the answer to the question I asked you?"

He smirked, "Which question?"

I completely forgot that others forget things… How ironic. I replied, "What do you see us as?"

He didn't act flustered this time, which was a relief, and he began by asking me, "Can you answer that?"

I smiled warmly, "With pleasure… Then you have to! And no taking my answer!"

He wrapped his arm around me, the warmth making me feel secure, "Alright."

After the confirmation, I started, "I see us as the perfect pair… Like, we're romantically involved and stuff, but it's not all about that. We're still friends, and enjoy just talking and hanging out, and having fun with each other."

He smiled, "That's it?"

I nodded, "Yup… Your turn."

He fakely whined, "Dangit, I was going to say almost that exact same thing. Give me a minute…"

I giggled, "Take your time…"

He was in deep thought, because when he's thinking, his eyes narrow, and he places his hand on his chin. It's kind of cute… Ugh, I'm sounding really mushy to myself...

He took a breath, snapping my out of my thoughts, and he spoke, "Um… When I first met you, I thought that you were the most beautiful pokemon I had ever seen… Of course, you're the first female that I'd seen, but you're still the most beautiful…"

He tapped his chin, trying to think of the right words, and he continued, "I liked you for the longest time, but I knew from Connor that you were immune to time-related incidences, including disappearing if we changed the world… I knew that if you felt even a fraction of what I felt, then you would be heartbroken if we became anything more than acquaintances; That's why it took so long for me to open up to you… You would be left alone again, and I didn't want to put you through that kind of heartbreak. Then, Connor went ahead and told me that he found out that you will disappear as well. Imagine my surprise… He seems to have a knack for telling you information after you needed to know it."

I huffed sarcastically, "You got that right…"

Grovyle sighed, and looked towards the roof again, "Well, we're on the home stretch, Celebi… Let's finish strong."

I nodded, "Yes… Um…

Connor called us with his telepathy, saving me from an awkward moment, _Celebi, Grovyle, and Tyranitar, come to my living area._

I sat up, followed by Grovyle, and I teleported us to his room, startling Victini. He flew backwards into the wall, and Connor laughed, "Wow… I didn't even think of you teleporting, Celebi."

I gleamed, "Part of the description of being a time walker!"

Connor chuckled, and I saw a small portal appear behind him. He turned, and a fairly large circular drum with glass on the end of it, with a thin vine of some sort coming from it landed in his chest. Three more appeared from it, and he shrugged, tossing them into a pile of stuff to his left, "Stage lights… Why not?"

I smiled, "So… Do you know where the passage of time is?"

Connor shrugged, "That was your thing, I thought."

I nodded my head in confirmation, "Good. Just checking. If you knew where it was, then there'd be a problem."

Connor nodded, "Is it in dusk forest?"

I shook my head, "No. I already said that earlier."

Connor leaned back in his chair, "Dusk forest would be perfect. Not too far from here, and its well hidden, easy for grass-types to traverse. But what do I know?"

I thought about it, and I thought out loud, "That's actually not a bad Idea…"

Connor smiled, "Now _that _I know."

I turned, "But we'd still have to go to it, in order for me to move it… It won't matter, actually, because when we do go, we either die or disappear… Same difference, actually…"

Connor smiled, "Well, if you tell me where it is, I can teleport us there."

I shook my head, "No… I need to. I can do it."

Connor looked at me warily, "All the way across the hidden land? Even I have trouble with that…"

I twirled in the air, and giggled, "With Victini's power boost, that won't be an issue!"

Tyranitar lumbered in behind us, and he smiled, "What's up, Connor?"

Connor looked at him, "We're going to the past. You were my first choice after Grovyle, Celebi and Victini."

Tyranitar smiled, "Cool!" He looked around, "Where's Galvantula?"

Connor waved his hand, "This is a minimal pokemon mission. Galvantula was next on my list, but I am limited to four pokemon to accompany me."

The stone lizard seemed kind of upset, but he put on a toothy smile, and beamed, "That's fine… I'll say goodbye real quick."

Connor nodded, "Yes… If there are any pokemon you wish to say goodbye to before our journey, do so now."

I turned to Grovyle, and we both thought the same thing. _Galvantula._

We ran around, looking for him, and we saw Tyranitar with a yellow thing on his chest. I smiled, "Yep. That's him."

Grovyle walked up to him, and Galvantula had tears in his eyes, "I'm going to miss you guys so much!" He tackled Grovyle to the ground, and Grovyle pushed him off, "I'm going to miss you as well…"

He looked at me, "C! I'm going to miss your time walking shenanigans to pull pranks with me!"

Grovyle turned to me, "Huh?"

I laughed nervously, "It's nothing… I'll miss you too, Galvantula…"

He turned around, and gave one last glance over his shoulder before he climbed up the nearest wall and was gone. I turned back to Grovyle, and he had reached into the ground, his arm melting into shadows, and he pulled out his armor.

He smirked, "I figured out how to use shadow travelling to learn shadow sneak… I can grab anything from anywhere as long as I know where it's coming from."

He equipped the armor, and groaned, "I can't shadow travel with it on, though… It kind of sucks, but whatever. I get a huge boost of power from it."

Tyranitar turned back to us, "Well… Let's get going."

We all walked together up to Connor's room, and he smiled, "Alright… Basileus?"

He turned to Grovyle's father, who stood up abruptly, "Yes, sir?"

"Make sure that the pokemon here don't kill each other while i'm gone, a'ight?"

The Sceptile nodded, and Connor turned back to us, "Alright, let's get going! Do your thing, Celebi!"

Victini held my hand, and I felt a rush of unimaginable power before I teleported us to the Passage of time.

It was a barren cliffside, with just stone. Tyranitar looked around, but there was nothing except a massive wall around for miles. Grovyle commented first, "Where is it…?"

I pointed to the wall, scraping my hand along it, and a blue arch appeared in the stone. It sparked to life, and Victini gave me the power boost I needed.

I turned to Connor, "I'm going with you, right?"

He nodded, the blue light from the portal shining past him, casting an intimidating shadow over the right side of his face, "If you want."

I grinned, "Of course!" _I can actually be with Grovyle until the end..._

I focused on the portal, using my massive power boost to calculate the trajectory of our temporal descension. I get one shot at this… If I miss, we'll have to find the portal again…

I concentrated, and I grabbed their hands, "Get ready!"

We all walked forward, and were slung through time, holding on through the years passing by.

* * *

**_Alright, chapter 27! Let me know if it's going well so far with a quick review or PM, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love!_**

**_-PL_**


	28. The Lost World

**-Chapter 28: The Lost World-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

We were slung through the blue portal, a blue ringed wall surrounding us, controlling our trajectory. We didn't let go of each other until we exited the other side. I tumbled through some bushes of leaves, into a tree that was freakin' huge. Like, Temporal Tower huge.

I stood up, and brushed myself off, "Well, that's a big tree…" I looked around, and almost every tree was that big, if not bigger. It was a thick forest, with lush foliage along the ground. It was still relatively dark, due to the canopy being so thick, so I wasn't blinded right away, like I expected to be.

I walked over to the group, and Connor turned to Celebi, "Did we make it?"

Celebi laughed nervously, "I think we went a little bit further back than I wanted, but hey, no big deal."

Victini floated next to her, "How far back are we talkin'?"

Before Celebi could reply, the air was rattled by a massive roar. We all looked around, not able to see past the thick vegetation, but Connor shouted in pain, and we all rushed to his side. He rubbed the back of his neck, and stood up, "Something just stung me, probably. I'm fine… Figure out what that roar was."

I handed him a pecha berry, saying that if something did sting him, then he needed to have a poison antidote.

He accepted it as he stashed it in his robe, and we kept walking. Another roar shook the ground, and a bunch of strange pokemon that I hadn't seen before dashed past us, seeming to be running away from something.

I turned around nervously, "Connor… What're they running from?"

Connor's eyes narrowed, "Celebi… How far back did we go?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but we heard the ground shake every couple seconds for maybe ten seconds before it stopped. She hesitated, and then a giant red and brown rocky pokemon with a huge, pointy-toothed head with a large tuft of white fur around its neck erupted from the brush. This thing was like fifteen feet tall, easy, so we all did the natural thing. We ran. Even Tyranitar.

The pokemon gave chase, and decided to go after Connor. Connor was running, and tripped over a tree root and face planted. I called to him, "Teleport!"

He cried out, "I can't!"

_What!?_

Tyranitar leapt onto its head at the last second, slamming it into the ground, and mega evolved. Even though he was still five feet shorter than it, he faced the colossal pokemon fearlessly. His mouth glowed blue, and he began freezing the pokemon's head with an ice beam. The pokemon roared in outrage, and it shook tyranitar off. Tyranitar stood up quickly, and the pokemon tried to snap at him with its enormous jaws, but Tyranitar sidestepped and tripped it with iron tail. He used thunder punch on its maw, and then followed up with a dragon pulse, roaring like an exploud as he used dragon tail to knock it into the nearest tree before it scampered away.

He turned to Celebi, "You're kidding me, right? A little bit further? Try back to the prehistoric age!"

Celebi murmured, "A Tyrantrum... "

Tyranitar de-evolved, and groaned, "Fantastic… Just our luck…"

I couldn't help but feel a little bit upset as well, "Celebi… How did you offshoot the deadline by that far?"

Connor added on, "We were trying to go four hundred years back, not four million years."

She shrugged, smiling nervously, "Victini's power boost amplified my capabilities, so instead of centuries, it turned to eons… Sorry."

Connor looked around skittishly, rubbing his shoulder, "Well, staying here won't solve anything… Where's the passage of time?"

Celebi shrugged, "I do not know..."

Connor made an obvious attempt to maintain his composure as he asked, "How do you not know…?"

She replied, "Because when we travel back many generations, we spawn where the passage of time was in the timeline that we travelled from. It switches itself around every few hundred years to prevent time hopping through all the different realities, messing up time, that whole thing."

I asked, "So… Is there any way to find the passage of time here?"

She frowned, "Not any way that I know of…"

Connor sighed, "Well, staying here won't solve anything… We need to move."

We all agreed on that, and began trudging through the undergrowth. It was so tall, I had to sit on Tyranitar's shoulders in order to see, which was pathetic.

I saw all of the giant flowers and plants that were such vibrant colors, my mind went into overload from the beauty of this place… It was a huge change from the grey world that I knew… Celebi flew further ahead, and Connor called up, "Celebi, stay close. I am not familiar with this place…"

Celebi scoffed, "You doubt that I can take care of myself? I've been here before; It's not that bad."

Connor replied sarcastically, "Except the part where we were attacked by a dinosaur pokemon within thirty seconds of being here… Other than that? _Completely _safe."

Celebi took the hint, and groaned, "Fiiiine…"

She slowed down, and fluttered next to me. I heard some rustling from the trees above me, and I looked up, but didn't see anything. Connor heard it as well, and spoke up, "Probably just a Mankey or something."

I looked at the canopy nervously, and then I heard branches snapping behind me. I turned around, but there was nothing again…

"Connor…?"

He called back, "Don't worry about it. I can sense the pokemon in the vicinity; I don't sense anything."

I nodded, "Alright…"

Then, I felt the wind being pushed around me. I heard the rustling of leaves, and I turned as a massive stone bird pokemon snatched me up from off of Tyranitar's shoulders in its talons. Its head was as big as my body, and its whole body was encased in stone, grey and rigid. It soared through the trees, and broke through the canopy.

I had to shut my eyes tightly to avoid the blinding light of the sun shining midday. I felt Tyranitar's ice beam freeze the air around me, but the pokemon kept on flying. My arms were being held against my body, and I couldn't melt into shadows without a surface to melt into… I couldn't open my eyes, but I could tell we were moving fast. I tried to slash blindly, and encased myself in a thorny layer of skin, but the pokemon simply dropped me as soon as I stabbed its leg. I opened my eyes, and I saw the treeline coming up rapidly. I braced myself, and fell through the canopy, landing on a… Hammock?

I looked around, and tried to get up, only to find that I was stuck on a large… Web. Oh.

I saw a massive red, yellow, and black spider pokemon with yellow legs crawling towards me, and I quickly made my body erupt into thorns on my skin. They sliced the webbing, and I fell through the air, to the ground below.

**-Connor's POV-**

"Why couldn't I shoot an aura bolt?" I asked Tyranitar, who was panting from sprinting after the Aerodactyl that caught Grovyle.

He attempted a shrug, "I don't know… Maybe it works differently here?"

I shook my head, recalling what had happened, "No, that's ridiculous… Why would a different era affect my powers?"

When the Aerodactyl snatched Grovyle up, I had tried to launch an aura bolt; My hand glowed dimly, but nothing happened. I sent Victini and Celebi after him, but they had yet to return.

Tyranitar shrugged, "You got any better ideas?"

I shook my head, "Well… No, actually." I reached my hand behind my head in an attempt to scratch my neck, "There's an itch on my neck… It's like a spot I can't quite get the itch out of…"

Tyranitar offered to scratch it, and I declined with the statement, "With those claws? I don't want my head severed from my body… That would be problematic…"

I felt an invisible force tap my shoulder, and I turned to see Victini appear next to me. He frowned, "Grovyle was dropped by the Aerodactyl three kilometers that way…"

He pointed to my left, and continued, "Celebi followed him through the canopy; I lost them, headmaster…"

I smiled, "No problem… They'll find us. Celebi can sense others too."

Tyranitar frowned, "If they take too long, do you think this jungle will live up to the stereotype of jungles being even more deadly at night?"

After failing to shoot an aura bolt again, I sat against the nearest tree, and began meditating in an attempt to restore my powers, "We'll have to wait and see…"

**-Grovyle's POV-**

When I hit the ground, there wasn't exactly a soft landing spot. I'm glad that I braced myself; I would usually just melt into a puddle of shadow, but this exo-suit, man… I'll probably be putting that in the kangaskhan rock later… It's not like I don't appreciate it, but I can't shadow-travel, and it's really annoying… I rolled out of the impact, and my feet absorbed the force like giant pillows, cushioning my fall. It was still a fifty foot drop, so my legs were aching, but what was I going to do?

I heard the noise of a flowing stream, and I walked past a dense bush to find a river, about ten feet across, maybe three or four feet deep…

I saw a weird stone fish pokemon, along with a few blue and black stone pokemon that looked like more sinister versions of squirtle, with more defined flippers instead of hands… Then I saw a huge one… It shot out of the water as fast as I could blink, and it growled, water dripping from it. It stood up, and I backed away slowly, "Hey… I'm not looking for trouble."

Its response was a series of hisses and growls, and it swung so fast, I couldn't even move out of the way. Its stone flipper smacked me in the chest, and I was slammed into the nearest tree… I saw some aipom stop to observe the commotion, and I stood back up, examining my armor. I expected it to be fine, but the chestplate was actually dented from the force of the blow.

I glared at him, "You hit really hard, huh?"

It simply glared back, and I sighed, "I'm already sick of not being able to understand you guys…"

It was coated in a cone of water, and it charged forward with lightning speed. It sprayed water in my eyes, and I leapt to the side as I heard the clamp of its jaws right by my ear. Something told me that I wouldn't be able to survive that bite if it hit my face…

I wiped the water away, and it slapped me again, cratering my armor further and slamming me to the ground.

I growled, "What the heck?!"

_This armor's already saved my life twice in ten seconds… How ironic._

It roared, but then glanced behind me, and sunk back into the river. I turned around, expecting to see a tyrantrum or something, but instead, I saw something even more intimidating… Although not in the scary kind of way that a Tyrantrum was…

It was a solid wall of stone, with metal spikes and small yellow eyes… It was a herd of pokemon, and they all growled in a baritone chorus of voices, "Bastiodon…" As they walked forward, ignoring me.

They were all at least eight feet tall, with huge, armored heads that were square like a wall, and I knew that any smart pokemon would steer clear of large numbers of intimidating pokemon like this.

I saw some smaller ones, maybe three feet tall, and with oval heads instead of squares camping near the middle of the herd as they crossed the river. I heard screeching noises, and the pokemon that I presumed were called Bastiodon all huddled into a circle around the small ones as three small-ish rainbow-feathered stone bird pokemon charged from the bushes. They ran wicked fast, but didn't seem to like flying all that much, in spite of their wings…

They rushed at the Bastiodon, but they formed a wall of armor, and the little bird pokemon tried to break through, but those Bastiodon were made for defense, from what I could observe.

They roared, and the bird pokemon retreated back a ways. They saw me, and their eyes showed a menacing excitement, and I sighed, "Great…"

They all rushed me, and I extended leaf blades as I slashed them down. One bit my arm with its yellow teeth, and a sharp pain coursed its way through my body. I looked at the bite mark, and it swelled up, making my skin look like a lump of green. I ate a lum berry from my bag, and the swelling went down, as well as the pain. I sighed as I took down the other two, "Leave me alone, please… I just need to get to the past… Er, future… Of this- Oh, never mind!"

When they were taken down, I heard Celebi's voice behind me, "Impressive…"

I turned, and she floated down through the trees, landing next to me without a sound.

I smiled, "Where's Connor and Victini?"

She looked around skittishly, "I don't know… But we need to find Connor as soon as possible… Night time is not fun around here."

I nodded my understanding, and we began trekking through the jungle.

**-Connor's POV-**

"Ugh… This is so annoying…"

I raised my hand, and the blue energy from my aura fizzled out, "What the heck…"

I took my robe off, stashing it in my wonder bag, "No point having it on right now since I can't do anything. And since it's so hot and humid here…"

Tyranitar was sitting against a tree next to me, and he groaned, "It is really hot… and the air feels wet. It sucks."

I looked down at my jeans that I was wearing, not even giving a second thought about them until now… How did they grow to fit me…? Then I looked at the shirt I was wearing… It was a green shirt with a white lantern symbol on it… It was tight against my arms, which were fairly muscular.

Tyranitar whistled from one of the cavities on his chest, "You're pretty fit for a human… I've never seen you without your robe on. What's your shirt stand for?"

I smiled, "It's a superhero from Terra… He has powers similar to mine, and protects the worlds from evil. He can actually make green objects from willpower, and fly through space and stuff."

Tyranitar nodded, "Huh… And he was a hero?"

I nodded, "Yeah…"

Tyranitar smiled, "I'd like to see that hero face against a son of Arceus. See how he does then!"

I smiled, "Well, he's not real…"

Tyranitar tilted his head slightly, "Then why'd you compare yourself to him?"

I shrugged, "His powers are similar to mine. That's all I said."

He shook his head in confusion, "If he's not real, then how do you talk about him like he is?"

I laughed slightly, "I don't know!"

He laughed in response, but suddenly a cannonball of water erupted from behind Tyranitar, and he was flung into the air.

I leapt out of the way, and extended my hand, but I forgot that I'm powerless. I growled, and kept dodging the torrents of water. I looked at what had shot at us, and a Kabutops with two Omastar had us pinned in a corner. The Kabutops was about six feet tall, and the omastar both about four. Tyranitar growled, and mega-evolved, startling them slightly. I ran up and kicked one of the omastar, but their stone shell hurt my foot more than I hurt them.

I stumbled back, and they cackled cruelly, not saying a word. Tyranitar's mouth glowed blue, and he shot a dragon pulse at the threat. They all dodged, and the two omastar grabbed his arms and pinned him to the tree. Kabutops stepped forward, and I blocked him. He chuckled, and knocked me aside with the blunt end of his scythe hands and continued advancing. Tyranitar opened his mouth, glowing blue, but Kabutops slammed it shut with an aqua jet, and Tyranitar swallowed the dragon pulse. His chest began glowing, but the light dimmed, and his nostrils smoked as he coughed, "Ugh… That was not fun."

The Kabutops raised a scythe hand, and tyranitar began gleaming, like he was made of polished metal. His arms crackled with electricity, and the omastars holding his arms retreated, hissing at the electric shock. His fists buzzed with electricity, and he began swiping at the kabutops, but it was just as fast, even with Tyranitar using rock polish for a speed boost. It blocked all of Mega Tyranitar's punches, but it was taking a beating. It backed away from Tyranitar's relentless flurry of electrically charged punches, and ran off to the river along with the two omastar. Tyranitar de-evolved, his stone skin cracked from the force of the water hitting him, "That was tough… Looks like i'm not as powerful as I thought."

I smiled, "You took down three water-type fossil pokemon. You're pretty freakin' powerful in my opinion."

He shook his head, "We need to figure out how to get your aura powers back…"

I nodded, breathing heavily, and wrapping the wounds on my arms and legs, "More importantly, we need to figure out where Grovyle and Celebi are…" I looked around, and noticed that Victini was nowhere to be found, "And where Victini went off to…"

Tyranitar smiled, "I've got just the thing.."

He opened his mouth, and shot a dragon pulse straight into the air, and it exploded in midair, shattering my ears… My aura muted noises to the same level of decibels by the time they reached my ears, so it never occurred to me to think to cover my ears...

Tyranitar looked down to me, "Don't worry, Connor. That got their attention."

I looked to the canopy nervously, "And everything else within a five mile radius…"

* * *

_**Yet another plot twist! Dun Dun Duuuunn! Will they find their way back to each other, or will they be doomed to wander the ancient jungle forever? Find out in chapter 29! (That was really cheesy, I know, but I wanted to do that at least once.) Anywho, let me know how this chapter was with a quick review or PM, it's really appreciated, and once again, thanks to Kurashi, Yamato, and DeoxysSpeed for the continuous support! I will see you all in the next update! Much love! **_

_**-PL**_


	29. A Mysterious Rescuer

**-Chapter 29: A Mysterious Rescuer-**

**-Celebi's POV-**

I heard the blast from a dragon pulse, and I perked up, _that was probably Tyranitar! _Turning back to Grovyle, I grinned playfully, "They're this way! Hurry up, you slowpoke!"

He sprinted, trying to keep up, but I was flying really fast, testing his limits. He panted, "Stop flying so fast! I can't fly, remember?"

I giggled, "I know! It makes it all the better when you do catch me!"

He leaped forward with a boost from his armor, and actually managed to catch up. He almost grabbed me, but I slowed down time to move out of the way. It's sort of cheating, but he didn't know I slowed it down… And he doesn't know that he can accelerate or slow down time as well… When I gave him some of my power, it allows him to do that.

He landed on the ground, "No fair! You're just floating out of reach!"

I smiled, and floated through some leaves. I landed on the ground next to him, and he grinned as he looked at the clearing that we came to. It was like a cliff, with multiple waterfalls and several layers of ponds and lakes pooling into each other. Rainbows were streaking across the beautiful open-air cavern from the mist of the waterfalls, and we laid down at the edge of the cliff, observing the ancient pokemon… I saw some Aurorus, along with Amaura, gathering by the waters' edge. They were long-necked, being about twenty feet tall, and seemed to cool the air around them…

They sunk their heads into the pond, and the water turned to slush as they slurped it into their round heads. Their breaths misted from the cold, crystalline water, and the leader of the herd, one that was a whole head above the others, roared, and they began moving away, lumbering slowly.

"They're so beautiful…" I murmured as I watched them. There was still a little amaura at the pond, lingering behind for a little bit longer, and I watched, to see what it would do… It slurped the water up for a moment, and suddenly the water erupted around it, and an Omastar tried to grab it with its tentacles, but the amaura flash-froze itself in a chunk of frozen air, trapping the Omastar's limbs in ice. It tried to retreat back to the water, but an aurorus blasted air so cold at it, it froze the moist air into a wall of Ice surrounding the Omastar. The Omastar was flash-frozen in ice, and the Aurorus reared up on its back legs, and shattered it into thousands of pieces by landing on it. The amaura melted the ice from around itself, and the Aurorus guided it away from the water.

I laughed nervously, "The pokemon here really now how to defend themselves…"

Grovyle smirked, "No kidding… Let's steer clear…"

I nodded, standing up, and taking in the breathtaking scenery one last time before flying back into the jungle.

**-Grovyle's POV-**

That was an interesting scene… _So this world is still kill or be killed, huh? Not much has changed in the future, then. I wonder how Tyranitar, Victini and Connor are doing…_

I heard Celebi call from in front of me, "Grovyle! Come quickly!"

I ran to a clearing in the trees, or a grotto, and Connor was passed out next to Tyranitar. They looked pretty beat up. Connor's arms and legs dripping with a dark red substance, which I presumed was his blood, and he was missing his robe; This was the first time I'd seen him without it. He was pretty muscular, and he wore a green shirt with a strange symbol on it, with blue pants that were slightly ripped. Tyranitar's skin was cracked all along every inch of his body.

Celebi shook them worriedly, "Tyranitar! Connor!"

Connor's eyes opened, "Oh, hey Celebi. You found us… That's good…"

Connor's hair was a mangled mess, and Tyranitar sat up, his skin making a cracking noise as he propped himself up with his arms, "The stupid Kabutops nearly got us, but I was able to drive them off… Not unscaved, though..." He pointed to his side, and a chunk of rock was missing from his rib cage. "Without his aura powers, even for a human of his size, he's sooo weak… No offense."

Connor shrugged weakly, "None taken. Humans are a fragile species…"

Celebi placed a hand on his wounds, and began glowing green. Connor's wounds closed up, and he smiled feebly, "Thanks… Celebi."

She smiled, "No problem… What's the matter with your aura?"

Connor frowned, "I don't know. I've tried meditating, asking arceus, and so far… No answers. I just suddenly can't use them anymore…"

Celebi turned to look at the grotto we were in, and thought out loud, "Where is Victini?"

Connor shrugged, a perplexed look on his face, "I thought he went off to find you?"

Suddenly, we heard Victini's voice, "Guys! Help!"

We all darted in the direction of Victini's voice, and he was being dragged to the river by two omastar… I heard Tyranitar groan, and he mega-evolved, shouting, "Hey!"

The omastar looked at him, then at each other, and one grabbed Victini while the other charged. I leapt to the side, trying to cut the one dragging Victini off, but a Kabutops landed in front of me and slashed at my armor with its scythe hands. It didn't scratch it, but it caught on the crater that Carracosta made earlier, and slung me to the ground. I tried to get up, but it swung down again, but I grew a wooden shield in the blink of an eye that absorbed the attack.

I smiled, "Alright, this'll work…"

The Kabutops was visibly stunned, because it stepped backwards as I stood up, even though it was two feet taller than me, and I retracted the shield as I threw leaf blades at it. They sunk into its skin like water, and it growled as it fled into the river.

Connor sprinted to Victini, who was almost under the water, and the Omastar dove under, just before Connor could catch them. Victini disappeared under the rapids, and Connor dove in without hesitation.

We waited for a severely long moment, before his head broke the surface of the water, along with Victini. From what I could tell, he could stand on the bottom, because his chest was above the water, but then he went underneath again.

We waited, and waited, but Connor didn't come back up.

Then, we heard a high-pitched shout, and I saw a tall figure with a hood on swing from a vine hanging from the tree, and I watched, awestruck as it dove in after them.

**-Victini's POV-**

I immediately regretted the decision to inspect the power source I had felt. It put off a similar vibe to Connor when he was at max power, but it wasn't him… I went off to investigate, and these stupid pokemon ambushed me. Their typing made my fire-type attacks ineffective, and I couldn't escape with physical or psychic force.

I hoped that the others were nearby. Ends up that they were. I was hopeful, but since Connor's aura powers didn't work, he couldn't get to me in time. I struggled to break free of the grip, but underwater was where these pokemon thrived the best. Connor lifted me up for a moment, but I was quickly ensnared again. I felt the current around me, and I began choking on water… I erupted into white-hot flames, making a whole bunch of bubbles, but not doing much else…

Then I thought about it… I used psychic to gather all the bubbles into one, and I placed it around my head. It was tough enough to not pop, so I got a few gulps of air in before the omastar slammed me into the bottom of the river. I didn't see Connor, and the Omastar was squeezing the breath out of me.

Then I saw a blue bolt of energy knock it off of me, and Connor suddenly appeared in front of me, grabbing me by my body and bringing me to the surface. We broke through, and I coughed up water, collapsing on the sand that we had come up on. Connor had his hood on, which I thought was strange, but I thanked him. "Thanks... When'd you get your aura powers back?"

When he spoke, it sounded unlike him… Then he removed his hood… Well, I should say _she _removed _her_ hood. I stared, gawking at her, and she smiled, "Are you alright? Those Omastar are always trouble…"

Her voice was pretty… But not in an attractive way, to me… I didn't think she was pretty or anything, but by human standards, she was probably pretty high on the chart of attractiveness.

I stuttered, "Y-You're a human female…"

She smiled, "Yeah… And you're the first pokemon I've seen talk in this era. We've both got some questions that need to be answered, and I want answers. Let's take this somewhere a little more not-so-obvious."

I shook my head, "What about my friends-"

She cut me off, "They're fine. The Grovyle with the weird armor, a pink Celebi, and alpha Tyranitar?"

I pressed further, "And Connor?"

She shook her head, "What kind of pokemon is that?"

I quickly tried to change the subject, "It's weird-lookin'... I don't know how to describe it." _I don't know how well she'll react to another human… That's on a need-to-know basis only..._

She quickly replied, not giving me a chance to change the subject, "I saw some strange pokemon rescuing you before the kabutops launched it out of the water. I didn't get a good look at it though."

I sighed with relief, "Thanks. That was probably him."

She stroked her hair, and it elongated to its full length; It was brown, and went down to her mid-back. She was almost as tall as Connor, and only slightly smaller, stature-wise.

"You're a tall human…"

She raised an eyebrow, "You've seen another?"

_Crap…_

She quickly dismissed the question with a shrug, not even waiting for my reply, "If this human was anything like me, you wouldn't be in danger anyways… Let's go to my base."

"But my friends will be worried…"

She shrugged, "You'll see them again. I've told them that you are fine with telepathy."

I smiled, "Cool… Um, where exactly is your base?"

She pointed to the woods, "It's this way…"

I shrugged, _It's not like I know my way around here… _"Lead the way…"

**-Grovyle's POV-**

After that mysterious figure dove into the water, Connor was thrown out with a jet of water. I strode up to him, "What was that?"

He coughed up water, "I don't know… But Victini…"

Then, I heard a voice. It sounded female, and it echoed in my head, _You will see him again. He is under my protection for now. _

Connor must have heard it too, because he perked up, and Celebi came up to me, "Victini is being held hostage?"

Connor shook his head, "No… There aren't any pokemon here that know of his value to us; I would presume that whoever that voice belonged to would keep him safe for us, until we find him…"

Tyranitar shook his head, "This is too complicated… So now we have to rescue Victini again?"

Connor shrugged, "It looks that way, although I don't know what pokemon we will be facing this time."

I looked to the stream, and then at where it was flowing, "Let's follow the river. Since Victini's fine, the one that rescued him must have brought him ashore somewhere."

Connor nodded, "Good thinking… Let's get going."

* * *

**_Oooh, snap! Another person! Who is this mysterious human, hmmm? Find out in the next update! As always, leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed, or if you didn't, tell me what was wrong, and I will do my best to respond accordingly! Much Love!_**

**_-PL_**


	30. Amber, The Temporal Guardian

**-Chapter 30: Amber, the Temporal Guardian-**

**-Victini's POV-**

After trekking through the jungle for what felt like an eternity, we came to a hidden grotto in a massive tree, like way bigger than the others. And most of the trees were as big as Temporal Tower. It had started to get darker once she pulled me from the river, and it was almost pitch black now.

There was a ladder carved into the hollowed out tree, and the human began climbing, and I floated up beside her. When we reached the open-air platform that her house was on, we were forty feet above the ground, easy. She strode across the interwoven branches, to a pot with a fire underneath it. I murmured nervously, "Um, fire and wood don't mix that well…"

She turned back, "No need to worry. This is fire-resistant wood. It can't be burned easily."

I floated over, the fire drawing me in, and I sat down on the branches. The girl sat next to me, and she whispered, "You're going to love this… Follow me."

She climbed up the nearest vine, and vanished into the canopy. I flew up where she carved a hole through the thick carpet of leaves, and when we came to the top, I saw the most beautiful sight I had ever witnessed… There were stars… Like a million little illumise on a navy blue canvas. It was a cloudless night, and there was a massive white and grey sphere floating in the sky. I pointed to it, "What is that?"

The human laughed, "That is luna. She lights up the sky at night, when sol goes to sleep. Sol's light reflects off of luna, like a mirror, even at night. And she provides light even in the darkest hours."

I smiled, pondering how Arceus had created everything so in sync, "Oh… It's alive?"

She smiled, "Only if you believe it… Many different beings believe different things, like some say that she is simply a chunk of rock, millions of miles away, reflecting the light of the sun. She changes her shape based on her mood. Some nights she is only a sliver of light, and other nights, she is like this. I believe that she may not be alive like you and I, but she does have a personality."

I nodded, looking back to the sky. The stars were spectacular… I saw Grovyle's starry-moss in his room, but this… This was the real deal... They were incredible…

The human smiled again, the white light of the moon washing over her face, and she breathed in through her nose, closing her almost orange-colored eyes, "This is my favorite time… When luna is full of light, washing over the trees… Some nights she disappears, and I get nightmares, but its times like this that make the world so beautiful… And worth keeping."

I pondered on the thought, and asked her, "How long have you lived here?"

She smiled, "As long as I can remember, I've lived in that tree..."

I chuckled, "Where I come from, this never happens… Light. It's an eternal dark world, devoid of the sun..."

She adjusted herself on the leaves, "And where are you from?"

I shook my head, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you…"

She placed a hand on my head gently, and murmured, "Try me… Are you perhaps from the future?"

I nodded, "How did you know that?"

She leaned back, laying down over a large area, "Lucky guess. Lord Dialga taught me well."

"Wait, Dialga?"

She nodded, "Mhm. You know how different eras have different temporal guardians?"

I tilted my head, a perplexed look coming on from the unfamiliar term, and she smiled, "Well, I'm the temporal guardian of this time… Some others include your friend Celebi, and a Lapras, save the less well-known ones… It doesn't always have to be a pokemon, or a human, that can travel through time to begin with. Dialga chooses sparingly, so it's a huge honor to be one. There are only eleven Temporal Guardians throughout the entire temporal web."

"Wait, so you can time travel?"

She shrugged, "Yes… But I must always return here, until Lord Dialga relieves me of my duties."

I smiled, "That's great! But... you're a human. How can you do all of this?"

She touched my face gently with the tips of her fingers, and I saw some of my energy flow into her. She giggled, and her hand erupted into orange flames. I backed away, "Whoa! how did you do that?"

She smiled, "I can obtain power from other living things through physical touch… They don't lose anything, and the power never leaves me. Dialga bestowed some of his power to me, so I can guard time until the next era on the tree of origin."

"Wait… So you are basically a living power sponge?"

She shrugged, "I don't know what a sponge is… But my power is the same as those around me, in a way… Your power is incredible…"

I pondered a thought that blew up in my head. Had she maybe absorbed Connor's power? _No… He lost his power, so it's something else… But when she blasted the omastar off of me… How did she display power that was on par with his?_

I suddenly felt very sleepy, so I yawned, "Well, are we going to sleep, or just wait around?"

She questioned my statement, "Why? Are you tired?"

I nodded, "Yeah… A little bit."

She smiled, "Alright… Um, well, I only have one place to sleep, so…"

I waved my hand, "It's fine. I sleep by levitating anyways."

She looked at me once more before sinking through the leaves, back to the tree house below.

I joined her by floating down, watching as she raised her arms slightly, and I heard branches creaking. The branches surrounded us, making a dome around the tree about the size of our rooms in the insurgo's cavern. She turned to me, "I'm Amber, by the way."

I nodded, "It's a pleasure. I'm Victini."

She laid down on a mat on the floor, and I floated in the air, and closed my eyes.

**-Celebi's POV-**

I found the beach that Victini had been dragged onto; The sand was hardened into glass, in the shape of a V. I saw some weird footprints leading into the jungle, and I beckoned for the group to follow. I followed the trail, tracking the psychic signature left behind by Victini's levitation. It was faint, signaling that he had left a while ago.

I flew forward, amplifying my psychic sense, and I saw the trail as plain as day. It started getting really dark really fast, but I could still see it like it was glowing. I followed it, and I heard the others following along behind me.

By the time I reached the end of the trail, it was pitch black, and I had to use flash to light the way. We came to a huge tree with a huge platform of branches way above us… I was pretty wary of what we might encounter at night, but if we got up high… That settles it.

I looked straight up, "We need to get up there."

Tyranitar walked up to the tree, "Um… Yeah, no. Heights and I don't like each other." He leaned against the vine-covered wood of the tree, but the vines swayed out of his way, and he fell into the hollow. I flew into the hidden entrance, with a ladder leading straight up it, and saw the wooden rungs carved out of the tree.

I smiled, "Cool! A secret base!"

Connor looked wary, "Um… Do you know whose it is?"

I shook my head, "No… But do you want to wait around while you're like this? Only human?"

He frowned his disapproval, and fiddled his fingers experimentally, "Fine… Let's go."

We began climbing up the ladder, and I floated ahead. I came to a dome of branches, and I saw Victini floating in the air, snoring. I hissed, "Victini?!"

His eyes shot open, "Celebi! How did you find me?"

I floated over to him, and he looked behind me as Connor, Grovyle and Tyranitar stepped into the dome.

He floated forward, "Connor!"

Connor fell to the ground from the tackling hug, and I heard muttering from my left. I turned, and there was another human laying on a mat!

Connor's eyes grew big, and the human rolled over, opening its eyes. I saw that it was a girl, and I heard Connor gasp, "No way…"

She stood up slowly, in a crouched position, staring at Connor, "So... you're Connor…"

He looked stunned, "H-how do you know my name?"

She gestured to Victini, "He told me. He didn't mention that you were a human, though…"

Connor sat on the nearest stool, and sighed, "What the heck… I didn't know another human existed in this world…"

The human crawled towards him cautiously, and turned to all of us, "You can talk as well?"

We all nodded, and Grovyle stepped forward, "Yeah…"

She smiled broadly, and Connor stood up, his green and white shirt reflecting the light coming from the fire underneath the kettle to the left, and Amber stood up to full height as well. She was literally just as tall as Connor, with a slightly more feminine build. His smile faded, and she laughed slightly, "You're intimidated by me…"

He scoffed, "No I'm not!"

She leaned forward, getting even closer to his face, and he backed away further. She smiled, her amber-colored eyes reflecting the glint of the flames from the fire, "You are..."

Connor scowled, "I don't want to have a surprise kiss or something! I'm being cautious!"

She laughed, "Who said I would want to kiss you?"

Connor's shoulders dropped slightly, and he murmured, "Nobody, but it's just…" He shook his head, waving his arms in an explanatory manner, "Look, when people get all up in my face, there's usually something about to happen. Where I lived before, People don't get in peoples faces for no reason. I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything."

She backed away, and turned back to Victini, "So… Your group is here. You can leave whenever you'd like, Victini."

Connor stepped forward, "May we... sleep here for tonight? We will be on our way in the morning."

She gestured to the ground, "Make yourselves at home! I don't mind having company. It gets rather boring most nights."

Connor nodded, and extended his hand to the ground, probably trying to grow a chair or something, and he sighed, "Ugh… This sucks…"

Amber looked at him with a puzzled look, "What's wrong?"

Connor shrugged, "It's nothing… I just lost my powers when I came here..."

Amber raised an eyebrow at him, "Another human as a Temporal Guardian? How odd…"

Connor waved his hands, "Ooh, no, no… Celebi's our era's time keeper… Or whatever you said…"

She turned to me quickly, a passionate fire igniting in her amber-colored eyes, "What's it like in the other world? Is it exciting? Full of adventure?"

I laughed nervously, "More or less. We've all had our share of adventures… "

She smiled really big, "Well, I'm glad to hear that! Would you mind if I visited your world? Surely you must be trying to return!"

I nodded, "Yes, but we need to find the passage of time…"

She frowned, "Wait… Lord Dialga hasn't taught you how to travel through time without it?"

I shook my head, "I can, it's just… We're sort of from _really _far in the future… Like, near the top of the temporal tree."

Connor tilted his head slightly, "The what?"

I smiled, "It's a Time Keepers' thing."

Amber's eyes grew big, and she asked with a puzzled expression, "Why in the world did you go so far back? To my era?"

I smiled skittishly, "Um, Victini's power boost that he gave me made me overshoot the date we were aiming for…"

She shook her head, her auburn colored hair draping over her shoulders. She pulled her hood over her head, and turned around quickly, "We need to rest, then. It is a long ways to the Passage of Time."

We all nodded, and Grovyle pressed a lever on his exo-suit, and it detached from his body. He turned to Connor, "Hey… Could you make it to where I can shadow-travel with it on?"

Connor nodded, "I'll recalibrate it when we get back to the future…"

Grovyle raised an eyebrow at the statement, "But why don't we head to the past… The one we were trying to get to?"

He gestured to me, and my interest piqued, "...She can't find the correct date from this timeline; We have to go back to the point of origin before we can recalculate the trajectory of the passage of time."

I smiled slightly, _He's right about that… I don't have the foggiest Idea how far back we've gone… I know how to return to our timeline, but that's it… _

Amber sat down next to me, "That human is well informed… He would make an excellent Temporal Guardian…"

I nodded, "Yeah…" _He doesn't know everything, though…_

She leaned back against the branches that she molded from the floor, and sighed, "So… Why are you taking this group to the past anyways? Your friends don't seem like the kind that want to go sightseeing. They look more like they're trying to accomplish something…"

I nodded, stealing a glance back at my friends, "Where we come from… Time is stopped. Clouds line the sky, blocking out the sun, making the world a land of eternal night."

She nodded, "Oh… That explains it. I have read about that era… The age of Primal Dialga. The world where time stands still?"

I shook my head, "The _Age _of Primal Dialga?"

She nodded gently, "There is a prophecy, as I presume you already know, about your partner, Grovyle. You all are going to the past, when Temporal Tower was under attack, and are attempting to restore it, altering the series of events leading up to that point, resulting in an entirely different world… The pokemon of that age will disappear, be erased from existence…"

Her expression grew sad, like she was remembering a sad memory, "It is sad, that a world could be so lost, that its inhabitants would try to change it by altering history…"

I nodded, seeing that she had opened the conversation up to my next point, "So, would I disappear as well? I've been trying to figure it out, but I don't know if I will. Since I'm a Temporal Guardian, am I immune to time-related events?"

She pursed her lips not looking directly at me, "I would presume that you are… I do not know the answer, so I can only guess what will happen to you, and the others. You will remain alive, while the others disappear. That is my prediction, but I could be wrong."

I shrugged, "That's alright… I guess i'll know in the end."

She smiled, "Time doesn't simply stop and start… There will always be a time where everything seems to work out for the better. It could be your world; Who's to say? You're the temporal Guardian! The world is literally able to be changed by you alone!"

I nodded absently, not really paying much attention as my mind kept on wandering back to the same question: _Will I disappear along with my family… Or will I be left alone in an unfamiliar world when it's all said and done?_

Before I could think too deeply about it some more, Grovyle came up to me, "Hey… It's a long journey. You should rest."  
I glanced over to him, "I am tired, actually."

_At least the whole phase of doubt about him is over… Thank Arceus._

We both strode across the dome of branches after I said goodnight to Amber. She waved, and walked over to a mat on the other end of the floor, laying down to go to sleep.

Grovyle got situated in a hammock he had strung up in a matter of minutes, and gestured for me to climb on. I leapt up onto it next to him in the hammock. He embraced me with one arm, and I couldn't help but grin in the comfort...

I scooted further up to his head, and he kissed my cheek gently, "Sleep well, Celebi."

I closed my eyes, "Sleep well, my dear Grovyle…"

* * *

_**Alrighty then... Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed! It's really appreciated, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love! **_

_**-PL**_


	31. Trek Through the Jungle

**-Chapter 31: Trek Through the Jungle-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

When I awoke, it was a pretty sight… The yellow light of the sun shone through the many small gaps in the branched dome, speckling the floor in a strange pattern of lights. I attempted to sit up, but Celebi's head was on my chest, and she was sound asleep. Her breathing was light, almost inaudible from the noises of the jungle. I laid back down, embracing her gently, and I instead turned my head to observe my surroundings. My leaf dangled off of the hammock, scraping against the ground gently, but I ignored it as I saw Amber preparing what looked like some kind of berry-based meal.

She glanced over to me, "Oh, you're awake! Come, I made breakfast!"

She hastily set all of her utensils aside, gleaming, "It's been so long since I've been on an adventure… Very few pokemon travel here, and even fewer find me in the massive expanse of jungle… I felt the power coming from your group, so I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet new pokemon!"

She stood up, her hood pulled down, letting her light brown hair flow down her back, and she strode over to me, "So, do you want to eat now, or wait until the others awaken?"

I turned my head, and the others were blinking their eyes, adjusting to the light shining through the dome of wood. Tyranitar sat up, "Good morning…" With a short grunt of strain, he muttered, "Should've brought a pillow…"

Connor sat up a moment after, sighing, "You sleep on the floor, Amber?"

She nodded, "Mhm. Why, do you find it uncomfortable?"

He shook his head, "No, it's not that… It's just…" His shoulders dropped slightly as he stared at her, and her gaze shifted to him, "Is something wrong?"

He blinked rapidly, diverting his gaze, and stood up, "Nothing's wrong. So, where is the passage of time, again?"

She pointed to my left, "About three days' journey that way."

I glanced to Celebi, and she was still asleep next to me… I don't know how. If the noise woke Tyranitar up, then anybody should be wide awake by now.

I tapped her shoulder, and she opened her eyes wide, then squinted, blocking a spot of sunlight that shone through the dome, directly into her eyes.

She turned to me, her eyes growing large as she recalled where she was, "How long did I sleep?"

I smiled nonchalantly, "Not that long."

Celebi went to reply, and Amber strode over, "I hope that you like roasted Sitrus berries! Because that's what is going to be fuelling us for the first day."

She walked back over to the flames that were crackling, toasting the berries. The smell was intoxicating… My mouth watered at the smell, and I watched in shock as she stuck her hand into the red-hot coals. Connor rushed forward for a moment before she giggled slightly, "You all are so nice… So caring about me, even though I haven't known you for even a day."

I stood up after Celebi rolled off of the hammock, "How are you doing that? I don't know a lot about humans, but flames are supposed to hurt. Like, a lot."

She smiled warmly, "Your friend Victini gave me some of his powers. He has proven to be very useful."

Connor waited for her to finish before replying, "Victini grants a power boost, though… Not immunity to flames."

She smiled, "That would be my doing. I can absorb others' power as my own; They don't lose any of their power, so I guess it's more like I can replicate their power… That's how come I am a Temporal Guardian. Dialga bestowed some of his power to me…"

Connor gasped, "Do you have any of my power?"

She shook her head, "Of course! Your power is being suppressed, though, so I am unable to properly use them."

He sighed, "Oh…" He quickly averted his gaze back to her, obviously in deep thought, "Wait, they're suppressed?"

She nodded as she ran her hand up and down his chest slowly, as if searching for something, "Yes... Turn around, Connor."

Connor didn't try to argue, so he turned around awkwardly, tripping on his own feet, and Amber placed her hand on the back of his neck. He cringed slightly, and she plucked a small seed from right underneath the collar of his shirt. He rubbed his neck, and Amber smiled, "Problem solved!"

Connor gasped, "What was that?"

She held it up to display it to us, "This is a leech seed… Probably shot at you by a Cradily. Normally it drains the target's life energy, though... I wonder why it absorbed your powers..."

He gasped, "That's what I felt when I first arrived here!" He chuckled slightly, and sighed, "Wow… Are you serious…"

He quickly opened his wonder bag, and pulled his robes out of the infinite space within. They shimmered to life again, glowing golden and brown. He put it on, and clenched his fists together, causing them to crackle with energy. He grinned, "Wow… That's all it was. Who would've thought… And that none of us noticed either..."

Amber smiled gently, and Connor kept glancing at her for brief moments before looking somewhere else, whether it was the ground, or the wall…

I smiled, and Amber clapped her hands, startling us, "Well, let's get moving! The day's already a third gone!"

She raised her arms, and the branches forming the dome around us creaked and cracked as they repositioned themselves into a solid staircase leading down to the jungle floor. The walls were down, and I squinted at the sunlight. It was a cloudy day, but the sun still shone brightly through the trees, which were blowing in the wind. That made me pretty paranoid as we began walking. Normally things didn't move in the future unless a pokemon moved it… And that was usually a sableye or some other hostile pokemon.

It was a really uneventful day of walking through the thick jungle, Amber parting the leaves around her, blazing a trail for us to follow.

Before I knew it, the darkness was setting in again. I was used to it in the dark world, but here, my eyes adjusted to the light, so when it got dark, I couldn't see anything…

Amber left a trail of neon-colored light to guide us, and at first I thought it was fire, but when I ran my hand through it, it vanished like smoke. I followed the trail, and I bumped into Tyranitar's back when we all stopped. Amber held her hand up, lighting the tree, and a massive stone statue appeared in front of us. It was of that pokemon that I had seen briefly in the Insurgo... Mew, I think it was. She nodded, as if the statue was a landmark or something, "We're going the right way." And began walking around it.

We followed her around the statue, and I half-expected it to come to life or something, but it just vanished into the darkness as the trail of light disappeared behind us.

**-Amber's POV-**

That human… Connor. His power is incredible… Back when Kabutops shot him out of the water, I scraped my fingers against him as the last moment, absorbing some of his power.

As I held up my hand, leaving a trail of neon lights in my wake, I kept glancing back to the group following me. I often found myself staring at that human longer than the rest… He intrigued me… He says he was from the age of Dialga, where time stood still… But the scrolls described the human as a warrior, solemn and strong… Able to stand up to Dialga himself when no others could. He was strong, but I don't think he could fight against lord Dialga… And he seemed to have a caring heart, and was very loving towards his followers. That Grovyle seemed to fit the description more so than the human...

I turned around as I heard a crashing noise behind us, but it was only Tyranitar tripping over a tree root. I sighed, "Let's take shelter for the night…"

I heard some murmurs of consent, and I looked to the trees, "Let's climb. To the treetops."

I latched onto the tree, using the power of spider-like climbing abilities absorbed from an ariados to climb. Connor simply levitated, alongside Victini and Celebi. Grovyle leapt up, and boosted Tyranitar with vines, pulling him up the tree. I made a platform of interwoven tree branches, and lit a small fire, the flame shooting out of my hand effortlessly, lighting the tinder in a split second.

The crackling of the flames soothed my nerves, and I leaned against the tree trunk,

smiling. Connor strode over and sat down next to me, "Um… Amber… Hi, uh…"

I didn't understand what he was getting so flustered about… He was only trying to talk. I placed my hand to his forehead, "Clear your mind… Now, tell me, what you were wanting to say?"

He quickly sputtered, "I think that you're really pretty, and-" He covered his mouth, and I heard Tyranitar snicker back was turned to us, but my attention was on this human now, perplexed by the sudden interest in my physical appearance, "Why, thank you! I do not understand why you were so flustered about it."

His cheeks turned bright red, like he was blushing, and I stared into his eyes. They kept darting off in different directions, and it suddenly clicked, "Wait, you-! Oh!"

His expression was showing anticipation, so I sighed, "I do think of you as an attractive human… But the law put in place by Dialga expressly prohibits Temporal Guardians from having romantic relationships with mortals… Or, for a more descriptive way of putting it, those that are affected by the passing of time…"

His shoulders dropped, and his eyes dropped to the ground, "Oh… Ok, it's all good…"

I smiled warmly, placing my hand on Connor's cheek, "You… Need to be strong, in your darkest hour. If the scrolls are anything to go by, then the hardest time has yet to pass. You will face many trials before your duties are fulfilled."

He seemed distracted by my rather harsh way of breaking to him that I couldn't be with him in any way other than a friend, but it had to be said. I can't let those feelings brew and amplify.

He quickly seemed to realize something, and turned back to me, "You said that Celebi was a Temporal Guardian?"

I nodded, "Mhm. Why?"

He glanced back to that Grovyle, and I followed his gaze, noticing how close they seemed to be, "Oh… That could be a problem, should Dialga find out…"

He turned back to me again, "Well, Dialga in our time isn't exactly all there in the head. When time went all out of whack, his mind went with it. He doesn't remember anything about his duties, only focusing on self-preservation."

I shook my head, "Okay… But if by some miracle the future is restored, and you all do not disappear… Dialga will come back to reason, and Celebi will be unable to speak to Grovyle again, due to breaking the Temporal Code."

He shrugged, seeming to be thinking about something, "Is there another word for time besides temporal?"

I shook my head, "I don't think so… Besides chron. That is a base word that means time, but it's not commonly used."

Connor nodded, "Okay… Um, goodnight, Amber."

I tilted my head in acknowledgement, "Goodnight… Connor."

**-Connor's POV-**

Well… I'll admit, Amber was really pretty… I didn't take it too personally that she was forbidden from having romantic relationships, but it still hurt a little bit… To come so close to having another human exist in this world alongside me, only to be stopped by some law I'd never heard of…

And Celebi… What would become of her and Grovyle? Once the future was restored… If we didn't disappear, none of us would be permitted to see her again… And that would suck, especially for Grovyle…

I didn't want to think about it too much, so I laid my head down on a pillow I stashed in my wonder bag, and attempted to go to sleep. That night, I had no dreams whatsoever… Which made my sleep seem like moments… I was awoken by a sharp hissing noise, and when I opened my eyes, an Ariados was hanging from a web, suspended right above me. I quickly launched an aura bolt at it, knocking it aside, and the rest of the team shot awake. Grovyle stood up, "Bleugh! Spinarak!"

A few of the baby pokemon had been crawling on him silently, so he erupted into thorns to push them off. He stuck his tongue out in a gesture to show disgust, "Ugh… I hate bugs…"

I nodded, glancing over to Tyranitar, who was still sound asleep. I patted his face, and he immediately glistened silver, in self-defense, but he sighed, "Don't wake me up by touching my face. It's not cool."  
I sighed, "Oh. sorry…" I glanced back over to Grovyle, or where he was supposed to be, and I saw only Celebi sitting on the hammock, her eyes still adjusting to the light of this world.

"Where's Grovyle?"

As if to answer my question, I heard limbs rustling above us, and he was chasing some pokemon through the trees, not even acknowledging us…

Amber sighed, "I'll go get him…"

I looked to the treeline again, but he was already gone."He was down here just a second ago... What the heck?"

**-Grovyle's POV-**

After I awoke to the sound of an Ariados being blasted, by Connor, I was presuming, and I proceeded to shake the little spinarak off of my arms and legs by breaking out into thorns…

I looked around, but nobody was here. I was alone on the platform… I looked around, perplexed, "They didn't leave without me, right?"

I saw Celebi flying through the trees, so I decided to give chase. She winked at me without saying a word, and flew even faster.

I hopped along the branches to keep up, "Hey! Where are you going?"

She only giggled as she continued flying forward. I caught up to her by swinging on vines and jumping from branch to branch, until she came to a grotto in a sunny clearing. She was with Tyranitar and Connor… Victini and Amber were nowhere to be found. I walked forward, towards Celebi, when suddenly they all vanished like mist. I looked around, crouching into a fighting stance, and suddenly I was ensnared by three Cradily that broke through the bushes!

I tried to pull them off, but the slimy mucus coating the pink vines around their heads hampered any efforts to remove them. I tried erupting into thorns, but the vines didn't seem to feel anything… The green flower pokemon began looking at each other, making clicking noises, and the two that had my arms ensnared began pulling in opposite directions…

They were solidly built pokemon, and I couldn't even make them budge when I tried to pull against them… I tried to think my way out of this, but the pain in my arms being pulled with such force was excruciating, making it nearly impossible to focus on anything else.

Then, as suddenly as the Cradily appeared, they were gone. Amber was knelt over me, "What did you see?"

I groaned, the pain in my arms slowly subsiding, "I saw that all of you guys were gone, then Celebi lead me here… Then the Cradily ambushed me."

She sighed, "That was sweet scent… It shows any who inhale it what they want most… Then the users of the move lie in wait while their prey comes to them."

I nodded, "Okay… Only listen to you when the others are acting weird, or if anything weird happens… And pay close attention to the actions of the others."

She nodded, smiling, "You're getting there. You'd still die within a day without my help, though."

I frowned, and tried to argue, but she shushed me, "Who just saved your life?"

I kept my mouth shut, and she pushed further, teasing me, "Who…?"

I murmured, "You did…"

She nodded playfully, "That's right! Now, the group was pretty worried about you! We need to head back!"

I nodded, an Amber teleported us there, using Connor's power, I guess. I was greeted with a flying tackle hug from Celebi, "Oh, my gosh! Where the heck did you go?! You had me worried sick!"

She sat up, cupping my head in her tiny hands, and she looked into my eyes, "Don't worry me like that again!"

I laughed nervously, "That's a bit dramatic, isn't it?"

Tyranitar lumbered carefully across the wooden floor suspending us in the air, and gave me a crushing hug, "You had us all worried, Grovyle…"

I gasped for the air that he squeezed out of my lungs, and stood up shakily, "It was a one-time deal…"

I put on my exo-suit as Amber floated the tree branch floor to the jungle floor, and we all stepped off, Connor and Victini not saying a word as we continued our journey.

* * *

_**Here we go! It's not long until I must bid you adieu! Only 3 more chapters, I regret to say. I am working on a sequel to the sequel, but it will probably be at least a few weeks before it's publishing ready. Anywho, feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love!**_

_**-PL**_


	32. The Golden Desert

**-Chapter 32: The Golden Desert-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

We all kept walking through the jungle, and after what seemed like forever, Amber let us rest.

"Only for a moment… We need to keep moving."

I sighed, my legs really sore from walking, and Tyranitar walked over to a felled tree. It was knocked over, and when I looked around, many more were laid across the ground, littering it with the trees were only five feet thick, but they were still huge. Amber looked around nervously, seeming to notice this for the first time as well, "Um… We need to move. This place is not safe."

I groaned, "Seriously?"  
I stood up, and Celebi landed on my shoulder. We heard a deafening roar from behind us, and Amber took off suddenly. We all followed, and she turned around, her hands glowing pink.

When I turned, there was a huge Tyrantrum almost on top of us, with its head nearly thirty feet above the ground. I gasped, and leapt out of the way, holding on to Celebi. Amber stopped the pokemon in its tracks, and she grunted in pain as it collided with the barrier she had thrown up. Connor decided to help, sharing her burden with his aura, and the giant pokemon growled, and headbutted it again. Connor fell to one knee, and I saw blood drip from his nose.

He sniffed once, not letting his hands fall, and Victini latched onto Amber and Connor, giving them both the power boost needed to push the Tyrantrum back. It stared at us intently, but eventually lumbered off, in search of an easier meal.

Connor stood up, wiping his nose, and the bleeding stopped as he healed himself.

_That must have taken a lot out of him..._

Amber didn't look much better. She didn't have a nosebleed, but she was shaking all over, and collapsed onto the ground. Connor sprinted over to her. She grabbed his hand, and I saw some of his energy transfer into her. She was enveloped in a blue wispy aura, and she stood up, good as new.

She looked at her hands, which glowed purple, and she smiled, "Your healing capabilities are astounding."

He rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Um… Thanks?"

She turned back around, and kept walking, "Come. We're almost to the edge of the jungle."

I sprinted ahead, relieved that we would finally be out of this Arceus-forsaken jungle. Celebi grabbed onto my leaf-hair in order to stay on, and I broke through the treeline, only to see a vast yellow expanse of sand in front of us.

I turned to Amber, "What is this?"

She raised an eyebrow, "This is Storm Desert."

"I thought that you said we're almost there!"

She shrugged, "No, I said that we're almost out of the jungle."

I groaned, "We have to walk through another desert? Where's Steelix when you need him?"

Amber tilted her head, "Who?"

I waved my hand, "He was our main source of transportation through deserts."

She smiled, "Why? You scared of ground types?"

I shook my head, "Of course not! Uh… It's just that deserts and grass types don't mix unless you're Cacturne or Cacnea…"

She giggled slightly, "You're too funny. We need to cross this place if we wish to reach the passage of time! So you don't really have a choice in the matter!"

I sighed, "Alright…"

I took a step out from the shade of the trees, and the sun beating down on my head made me dizzy almost immediately. The sand was blinding to look at, and sand made a terrible foothold to walk in. I held Celebi, who tried to fly next to me, but she was soon reduced to walking, then she collapsed. I picked her up, and continued walking in spite of the fiery pain in my feet.

Tyranitar felt right at home, walking through the sand as normally as any other place, and he grinned, "This is great…"  
Connor had his robe stashed in his backpack, and Amber grabbed his hand again, "Your robe is the source of your power?"

He nodded,"In a way, yes…"

She closed her eyes, "You can't rely on it forever… You need to be able to use it free of restrictions..."

She began glowing blue, like Connor, and they both gasped, and Connor fell to the ground.

His arms glowed blue, not just his hands, and the aura making strange patterns on his forearms and biceps. He smiled, "How did you…?"

She smiled, "I can transfer power to others… I gave you your power back to you, so you can use it without the need for your robe."

Victini shook his head, "That doesn't make any sense… He can't use his power without his robe!"

She smiled, "He _couldn't_. But he can now due to my altering of his power slightly. His previous aura was unrestrained, unable to be channelled without his robe acting as a funnel, thus rendering his power unusable without it. I channeled it for him before returning it, so he can use it freely, without his robe, should he find himself without it."

Connor's arms stopped glowing, and he grinned, "Thanks…"

She smiled, letting go of his hand quickly, and brushed her hair back, "It was not a big deal."

He asked, "So... About the leech seed that drained my powers..."

She smirked, "The pokemon that drained them did not obtain them. Leech seed absorbs life energy to restore the users'. It doesn't transfer power like that."

Connor sighed,"Good... I wouldn't want a Cradily with aura powers running around. That would be problematic."

We all began trekking through the desert, all staying within ten feet of each other, and Victini was flying through the air, "This heat feels so good…"

Connor smiled, "That's because you're a fire-type. You can swim in lava and be unaffected!"

Victini grinned, "I ought to try that!"

I smiled, and couldn't help but feel happy here… That we were bringing this to the world that we lived in. It was a cloudless day, with the sun overhead, and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. I can't believe that I hadn't looked up until now.

I felt the sand shift underneath me, and I tossed Celebi to the side, hoping Connor would catch her, as a massive pit opened up, and I slid down the steep incline. There was an orange pokemon with an oversized head at the bottom, and I tried to kick it, but it clamped down on my foot, and I barely had time to gulp in a breath before it drug me underneath the sand.

**-Connor's POV-**

When Grovyle tossed Celebi to the side, I caught her with my aura, and I saw the sand open up beneath him. He fell into the pit, and as fast as it appeared, it vanished, like a wave collapsing back over the shore. I scanned for an aura signature, and got a lock on. I transformed into a Steelix, and I'll admit, having no arms is weird.

I slithered under the sand, and engulfed Grovyle in my mouth, along with the mysterious pokemon that had drug him under. I shot back to the surface, and spat them up onto the dunes. I transformed back into a human, and I pulled the little orange pokemon off of his foot. The exo-suit protected his leg from being broken by its crushing jaws, and the pokemon huffed, "Trap… inch!" Before burying itself again.

Grovyle's eyes were closed, and his breathing was stopped. I hit his gut, and sand poured out of his mouth. I tilted him upside down in the air, and more sand poured from his throat. I focused, and restarted his heart with a shock from my aura. He gasped, and coughed up the remaining sand, "Bleeuugh… That was horrible. What pokemon was that?"

I shook my head, "That was a Trapinch… It traps its prey in sand pit traps before dragging them under."

Grovyle coughed again, vomited, and stood up, his exo-suit helping him move his arms and legs with minimal strength on his part, "I thought that the Golurk and Sableye were bad…"

**-Grovyle's POV-**

I died again... For the third time... This was getting old. Death. dying then coming back. I wasn't in the distortion world yet, so Connor restarted my heart and I was able to come back, but still...

Connor nodded after my last statement, and transformed into a Charizard, his voice changing to be even deeper, "So, I can drag you all across the desert if you have sleds or something."

I grew three wooden shields in the shape of discs, and I tossed two of them to Amber and Tyranitar. Amber smiled, "I can do that as well…" She transformed into another Charizard, except pitch black with crimson wings. Connor grinned, "Shiny Charizard? How'd you do that?"

She shrugged, "I don't want to look exactly like you. I can take Grovyle, you take Tyranitar?"

Connor nodded, "Sure."

I used vine whips to secure the discs to Amber and Connor's legs, and they began flying across the desert. It would have probably looked like a race from any other point of view. Tyranitar weighed ten times as much as me, so it was undoubtedly a strain for Connor to keep up with Amber.

She was flying through the desert so fast, I felt the wind in my face… Celebi held on to my arm, clutching tight, and Victini simply rode on Connor's back. Within no time we reached the edge of the desert, where the mountains casted a looming shadow over the sand. It went from blazing hot to almost as cold as the future was in a matter of seconds after being shielded from the sun. Celebi's wings frosted slightly, and my breath misted in the cold air.

Both Charizards' tails made the air around them shimmer from the heat, and they both transformed back into their respective humans… Amber looked at the mountain, "That was fun. I hope that we can do this again some time!"

Connor smiled, panting slightly, "Yeah… Fun… And Exhausting."

Amber laughed, and the sun disappeared behind the mountains. They were huge… And I'd thought I'd seen some large mountains in our world. Then again, everything in this world was relatively large-scale… The trees, the pokemon… Heck, even Amber! I had read in the scrolls that human females didn't typically exceed 5'6'' in height… So for her to be 6'2'' is huge.

Amber gathered some tinder from the trees she sprouted from the ground, and lit them aflame with the power Victini gave her. She sat by it, and within a moment, it was a bonfire, five feet tall, the heat radiating for maybe twenty feet in every direction. Connor pulled out a berry, and held it over the fire with his aura, until it was toasted thoroughly.

He bit down into it, and spat it out quickly, "Hot…" We all laughed, and Connor kept glancing at Amber for brief moments at a time, and I figured that he had a little crush on her. I couldn't blame him. She shared his power, was nice, laughed a lot, and I'm pretty sure that by human standards, she was fairly attractive. Was she attractive to me? Not so much.

We were all enjoying sitting around the fire, and I glanced around at my friends… No, my _family_… We were all taking care of each other like we were kin. Connor, Celebi, Tyranitar, Victini… Even Amber. We all got along so well… It's a shame that we have to disappear… A cloud cover rolled in in the half hour that we had spent talking, blotting out the sky… I wanted to see the stars again. The last time I had seen them was when I lived with Dialga… In Temporal Tower.

I closed my eyes, attempting to go to sleep, and before long, I was out like a snorlax.

* * *

**_Chapter 32 is up, people! As always, feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed! I am so glad to be receiving the support, and I will see you guys in the next update! Much Love!_**

**_-PL_**


	33. Back to the Future

**-Chapter 33: Back to the Future-**

**-Connor's POV-**

I stayed awake after just about everybody else… Except amber. I sat next to her, and she suddenly looked to the sky. There was a rainbow wave of light waving through the dark sky, lighting up the mountains and reflecting off of the snow, and Amber grinned, "Rayquaza is near! We might be able to see him! To the peak!"

She transformed into a pidgeot and took off up the mountain, towards the rainbow lights. I transformed into a swellow, and quickly caught up to her. She turned to me after transforming again, and pointed to the night sky, "There! Do you see it?"

I narrowed my eyes, and a thin green serpent weaved its way through the lights. It was very long, and Amber jumped in the snow, "Rayquaza! Come to us!"

I shook my head, "No… Just here is fine."

She smiled, "I often see him when I come here. He is quite nice."

The snake-dragon turned and descended onto the mountainside, and landed on the peak, causing dozens of avalanches on the side of the mountain. Amber sprinted towards it, and it laid its head in the snow, closing its eyes.

She scratched its chin, and it rumbled contently, its neck spikes shaking rapidly. She smiled, "Oh, it's been so long!" I was shocked that she ran up to it without fear… I mean, its head was as big as Tyranitar, and its body ran down half the length of the mountain! I began walking towards it, and it growled so loudly that the snow was shaking, and Amber pet its head, "Rayquaza… He is a friend."  
I raised an aura barrier in front of me, but it rolled its eyes and blinked, and the barrier vanished. I was unable to raise another, and Amber grabbed my wrist as she placed my hand on it. It closed its eyes, and I felt its chin. I expected it to be armored, but it was as smooth as silk, and it was slightly springy like a sponge. Its massive head made me feel so small… I moved my hand to around its eyes, and it was like Draconian Iron, and rough like sandpaper. It quickly hissed through its nostrils, pushed itself off of the mountainside, the rest of the snow collapsing in a massive avalanche, and nuzzled Amber one last time before ascending back into the starry sky. It vanished in a moment, along with the lights.

I sighed, "That was incredible…"

Amber smiled, "Yeah? You liked it?"

I gave her a friendly hug, "I loved it!"

She smiled, and gazed into the sky, "The stars are so pretty tonight…"

I followed her eyes, and I saw what she meant… There were countless flecks of light dotting the sky…

She didn't look down before continuing, "Some say that many of those stars are in fact Time gears created by Arceus to envelop the cosmos in time. Other cultures say that they are spheres of gas many times the size of our world that burn so bright that they light up the entire universe, which is like an infinite space. I don't know which one is right, but one thing is definitely true: They are beautiful."

I nodded, "This is incredible… I would have no regrets disappearing for this…"

Amber's smile faded, "Yes… Let's get some rest. There is no breaks between here and the passage of time. We are almost there."

I nodded, and we both flew down the mountainside. We landed silently next to the fire, which had shrunk considerably, and all of the others were sound asleep. I sighed, and put my robes on as insulation. I leaned on the snowy ground, "Goodnight, Amber…" and fell asleep.

**-Grovyle's POV-**

When we awoke, there was a few inches of freshly fallen snow covering all of us. I shook it off of me, and Amber woke the rest of us up before the sun had risen over the mountain. She smiled, "Let's go! We're almost there!"

We all stood up, and she began hiking up the side of the mountain. We followed suit, and before long I had to sit on Tyranitar's shoulders, because the snow was up to my neck. I sighed, and Tyranitar spoke up to me after lagging behind slightly, "Y'know… I would like to see Amber and Connor together, like you and Celebi. Amber said somethin' about her not being able to be with him due to her being a temporal guardian or somethin' like that, but still…"

I sighed, "Yeah. I don't know how that would work…"

Tyranitar shrugged, causing me to hop slightly, "It won't matter in the end, of course, but it would be interesting to say the least."

I nodded, and Amber immediately shushed us all. She pushed us all into the snow, and covered us. I felt the air around us chill down rapidly, and the sun disappeared within a matter of seconds. Connor's hands glowed blue, but Amber placed her hand on his, shaking her head, "Let it pass…"

I hissed, "What is it?"

As if to answer my question, I heard muffled footsteps, followed by a gruff growling noise. I peeked through a gap in the snow, and saw an Abomasnow. Amber seemed terrified, but I sighed, "It's only an Abomasnow. Tyranitar can take him."

Amber shook her head, "No. Let it pass. It is the Alpha… Able to evolve further… It can freeze this entire mountain on the hottest day… It will leave."

After a long while of the Abomasnow not moving, Tyranitar sighed, a little bit louder than he should have. The Abomasnow turned its head to the snow pile that we were under, and it grabbed Connor and I before we could react. It picked us up clean off of the ground, and its roar was so cold that the frost settled on us…

Connor shot an aura bolt at it, but it simply dissipated, and the Abomasnow seemed even more ticked than before.

Amber leapt through the snow, and lit her hand on fire. The Abomasnow backed away rapidly, and she nodded, "Now, run! I'll hold him- Oof!"

The Abomasnow had smacked her with power whip, and she was sent flying into the wall. It lumbered over to her, and before it could reach her, Tyranitar erupted from the snow banks and mega-evolved.  
I smiled slightly. _Tyranitar's got this…_

I looked away for maybe two seconds, and I heard tyranitar roar in pain.

I turned back to the battle, and Tyranitar was launched into the wall, sailing over my head. When I saw the Abomasnow, it had mega evolved as well, and it was probably twice as large as Tyranitar. It roared, the frost coating my leaf, and making it stuck in one place, but we all ran to the side as Tyranitar used flamethrower. Abomasnow used ice beam, and it broke through the flamethrower, and flash-froze Tyranitar. I waited, and it began glowing blue… Connor shielded all of us, and Tyranitar shattered the ice, "Outrage!"

The heat radiating from him melted the snow into slush as he walked through it, and the mega Abomasnow used frost breath to cool him down. He slowed down, and Abomasnow used wood hammer to knock him into the wall again. I couldn't intervene; This was a battle of the Alphas…

He roared again, and rushed forward after using rock polish. Apparently he didn't get confused unless he finished outrage… Weird.

Abomasnow tried to intercept, but he dashed around it, and used fire fang to melt its hide. It roared, and the flames spread over its hide, and through the poofy fur. It rolled into the snow, putting out the fire, and scampered off. Tyranitar growled, "So weak to fire Attacks…"

He de-evolved, and collapsed onto the ground. Connor rushed over to him, and his skin was cracked, just like after we found him in the jungle.

He groaned, "That was a tough battle… Who woulda thought…"

Connor healed him, sealing the cracks in his skin, and he stood up, "Thanks… Have I ever told you that I love your healing capabilities?"

Connor smiled, "Not until now."

We all began walking again, and nothing else really happened here… Not near as much as in the jungle, anyways… There were some Mamoswine herds here and there, but before we knew it, we had reached the passage of time. Amber held her hand out, and it sparked to life. She turned to us, "Good luck on your journey, my friends!"

I nodded, and we all began walking towards it. Amber was standing right behind us, and as we held hands, Connor hesitated, "Wait…"

I turned around, and faster than any of us could react, he grabbed amber's arms, pulled her close, and kissed her. I thought that she was going to kill him… Metaphorically. Her eyes showed a surprised shock, but she eventually embraced him, and they stayed like that for what seemed like a long while before Connor grabbed our hands again, "Let's go… We've got the future to save."

We stepped through the portal, and were slung back to our world.

* * *

**_Alrighty, guys... Second-to-last-chapter... I'm going to save all the quote stuff for the last one, though. So, as always, feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed, and I will see you in the next update! Much Love!_**

**_-PL_**


	34. The Adventure Begins

**-Chapter 34: The Adventure Begins-**

**-Grovyle's POV-**

When we emerged from the portal, we all landed in the center of the Insurgo Cavern.

Celebi seemed impressed, "She really knows how to aim the temporal trajectory..."

Before we could really comprehend where we were, Galvantula leapt from the wall, clinging to Tyranitar's chest, "Tyranitar! Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!" He made a fake sobbing noise, "My pranks were no fun without you to laugh at them!"

Then, suddenly, another portal appeared right in front of us, and Amber stepped out, "I hope I didn't miss anything too important?"

You know… It hadn't really occurred to me that Amber could travel through time as well, even though she said that she could. Connor was obviously the most shocked, because he stammered, "Uh… A-Amber?"

She smiled, "You don't think I'd let you do that and then just walk off, did you?"

He shrugged his cheeks turning a bright red, "No… I mean, I don't know… Uh…"

She put her hand on his cheek, and chanted, "Annan sinulle kuolemattomuuden. Et pysty iän, olla ikuisesti nuori... niin että voit luonani." Her hand glowed with Temporal Energy; I could feel it from here. It made my skin tingle like somebody was lightly brushing against my arm.

Then, she leaned forward and kissed him. Galvantula whistled, "Well, somebody's been busy!"

Connor smiled, then asked quickly, "I thought you said it was forbidden for-"

She nodded, cutting him off, "It was forbidden for me to be with those that age…"

He shrugged, still stunned, "So… You're throwing your previous vows out the window?"

She shook her head, "No… I transferred a fraction of Dialga's power into you… You are now immune to the passing of time. There is no rule in place against doing that."

He laughed, "Wow… That's great! Um..."

Galvantula shrugged, "You're kidding, right? That's really corny, predictable, and overrated if you ask me… But whatever floats your metaphorical boat."

He hopped over to Connor, "You got yourself a fine-looking human there, C! Not that I'd consider a human attractive by a Pokemon's standards… Heh."

He turned to Amber, "Wassup girl? I'm Galvantula! Most people call me that anyways. G kind of stole my nickname. G. I call Connor Con behind his back, even though I just called him C. Don't tell him I said that."

Amber 's expression became almost... Recognition as she stared at him, "You…?"

Galvantula laughed, "It's all good! You probably seen some other Galvantulas or somethin'!"

She shook off her confusion, "Hello, Galvantula. I'm Amber."

_What was that? Does Amber know Galvantula?_

Connor cleared his throat, and Galvantula turned, "Oh, hey, Con! We were just talking about you!" He turned his head back to Amber, "He usually tolerates me, in case you didn't notice. Can you do all of the flashy aura stuff like him?"

She shook her head, "Not to the extent that he can, no."

He made a tsk-tsk sound, and said, "Too bad. His fireworks are pretty impressive."

She was visibly stunned, "Fireworks?"

Galvantula nodded, "Oh, yeah, he does huge fireworks shows sometimes. They are so cool!"

Connor cleared his throat, and said, "Galvantula, that is quite enough."

Galvantula said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Galvantula nodded, "Alright, ya big party pooper. Later, amber." He winked with three of his six eyes, and hopped over to us, "Wassup, my main plant pokemon? I missed you all!"

I smiled, "Hey, Galvantula. How you doing?"

Galvantula backed away in mock surprise, "How am I doing? Pretty good now that you're here! Keep it between us, but Connor's a much better leader than Basileus. No offense G, but your dad is so organized and strict, it makes me nauseous just thinking about it! Ugh!"

I laughed at his remark, and Galvantula asked, "So what was the past like? Were there any good-lookin' Galvantula looking for a little bit of me?"

"Not that we saw."

Galvantula shrugged, waving one of his arms, "Not a problem! I'm cool being the only one of myself!"

Celebi smiled as she looked to the crowd of pokemon gathering around us, and said, "It's good to be back…"

Connor shouted, "Alright, Insurgo! I know you are all excited to see our return, but as cruel as it sounds, there is no time to Celebrate! We have to get back as soon as possible!"

The insurgo protested, something along the lines of, "Come on! No party or anything?"

Connor smiled and looked at Amber, "Alright… Maybe for a little bit." He raised his hands, and Galvantula said, "Ooh, can I string the disco ball now?"

Connor laughed, "Why not?"

Galvantula strung a electro ball from the ceiling of the cavern, and Victini put a rainbow flame inside of it using psychic, and it began sparkling brightly, in rainbow colors. Connor snapped his fingers and the moss-lights dimmed down, and music began flowing through the air, seemingly coming from the walls. It was some kind of music spell, so whatever music you wanted to hear, you heard. So nobody would be arguing over what kind of music was playing.

I turned to Celebi, some slow music playing in my ears, and stepped out of my exo-suit. "May I have this dance?"  
She extended her hand, nodding, "You may."

We held hands, and she floated at eye level with me as we slowly strode through the cavern, the rainbow light reflecting off of us.

We both smiled as we looked into each others' eyes, and Celebi broke the silence first, "So… Now the true adventure begins…"

I nodded, "Yes… I can't believe that it's finally happening… And Connor's Immortal… Sort of. How weird is that?"

She smiled, "It is quite strange…" She paused, then continued, looking into my eyes, "This is the best time that I have ever had…"

I smiled, "It has been a load of fun… We've been through so much pain… It makes the moments of joy that much sweeter… It's time for the era of light to begin for us."

Celebi nodded, "Yes…" Her gaze shifted to something behind my head, "What's Connor doing?"

Connor stepped onto the platform and clapped once. The music I heard changed to a fast, lively beat, and he began dancing quickly, and used his aura powers to flip in the air in slow motion. He cast a wispy cloud of fog down the side of the platform he had erected, and Ludicolo high-fived him before he landed again. He shouted with a joyous smile, and some balls of light shot from his hands, exploding into a beautiful array of colors…

Galvantula's shouts rose above the rest, "I knew he could do fireworks!"

I dragged Celebi onto the stage after Connor leapt off, "Come on!"

We did a fast-paced spinning dance, I'm not really sure how to describe it, so I won't, but I added a special touch by sprouting a rose from my wrist and handing it to Celebi as we walked off.

We danced some more, and had a load of fun for a long while before the music grew quiet, and Connor shouted to be heard, but he was laughing slightly, "Alright… Alright… I know that this has been fun, but I will tell you right now… We have to head to the past. Grovyle, Celebi and I will travel to the past, so I am afraid that the party needs to be cut short. I am sorry my friends, but even though we need to live as though it is our last moments upon this world, let it be said that we will live on in the memories of others!"

I cheered alongside the insurgo, the cries of the pokemon echoing throughout the cavern as one voice.

Celebi looked into my eyes, and I looked back. We nodded our agreement, and Connor teleported us to his room. When I looked back, Tyranitar and Amber were there as well.

He smiled, "You four… Thank you… For everything."

We all smiled, and his eyes teared up, "I… Am sorry that our journey has to lead down this path… But this is what we were destined to to."

I nodded, and he turned to Amber, "You… Are the most beautiful human I have seen in my life… The last thing I want is to leave you… Especially so soon after this. I know that I cannot age now, but I will still disappear, just like the others…"

She placed her hand on his shoulder, "It is alright… You and your friends have given me enough enjoyment and adventure to last a lifetime. I would not trade our adventures for anything in the world."

She embraced him suddenly, and after she released him, she turned to us, "Grovyle… Celebi… Victini, and Tyranitar, I will remember you for the rest of my days. You are all some of the bravest pokemon I have ever met, and I am honored to have known all of you."

We all teared up, even me, and Amber looked into Connor's eyes before sitting down, "Now go… Do what you must."

He turned to Celebi and I, and said, "Guys… If we do this, there is a good chance that the pokemon of the past will try to stop us. They do not know about Temporal Tower, so if we take the time gears, they will try and stop us if they find out who we are."

I shrugged, "That won't be a problem. I can handle myself. And we've got you. You can take us across the entire mainland in a day."

He laughed, "Good thinking, Grovyle! Well, let's go. No need to prolong this."

Celebi raised her hands, and we were transported to the passage of time. We stood in front of it, and she looked around nervously, "I don't like this… Something doesn't feel right…"

Connor called back, "Then let's hurry up! The sooner we go, the less you have to worry!"

Celebi opened the passage, and Connor grabbed my hand, "Celebi… Grovyle… Should we fail… Or get separated... Try to regroup in Fogbound lake. And if we come back here, head back to the Insurgo Cavern."

She nodded alongside me, "Alright…"

He grabbed her hand, but suddenly, there was a dark cloud above us. I recognized it faintly... It blasted the ground in front of us, and Connor and I were blown into the portal. I saw Celebi slip from his grasp before we hit the passage, and we were enveloped in the blue light of the tunnel leading to the past.

I reached back, and cried out, "CELEBI!"

Connor held on to my hand, "Grovyle! She will be fine! We will succeed… We just need to stay together!"

We were floating weightlessly through the temporal tunnel, when suddenly the light blue glow was replaced with a crimson red luster, and the portal began quivering. I turned around in the air, and I saw the massive cloud that had separated us from Celebi. I tried to speak, but a psychic force covered my mouth. I turned Connor around, and he began glowing with blue energy. The cloud retreated, but then blasted him with purple lightning.

He cried out in pain, "Gah!"

The psychic force was lifted from my mouth, and I grabbed his arm, the wind in the portal picking up, signaling that we were getting close to our destination. "A-are you alright?!"

He shouted back , the wind quickly becoming a maelstrom, "Yeah… Just don't let go!"

I nodded, and held on to his hand even more tightly. He transformed into a swampert and grabbed my arm with his huge hands. The dark cloud launched a shadow ball at me, but Connor enveloped me with his massive body, his back turned towards the cloud, shielding me from the blast. He grunted in pain, and suddenly, he gasped, his eyes flying wide open.

His eyes shifted down slowly to his chest, and my gaze followed… To a shadowy blade that was sticking out of his chest, thrown from the dark cloud. "No… Connor, no…"

The swampert-Connor grunted in pain, "Go… Do not fail… I will meet you at Fogbound Lake…"

I shook my head, still holding on, "No! You have to hold on, we're almost there! I'll heal you!"

He smiled, " I've been through worse… I'll see you on the other side, brother."

The shadow blade that had pierced his chest withdrew, and he pushed me away, floating further and further away...

I extended a vine whip, attempting to bring him back to me, but he vanished in a flash of light before it reached him.

Before I could attempt to shout, the end of the portal coughed me up onto a cold, stone ground. I stood up, and the portal had already vanished. I looked around, but the world was dark, and there were clouds in the sky… It seemed as though nothing had changed.

_Did we fail again…?_

I shouted as I slammed my fist into the ground, growing a giant tree, and smashing it into the nearest boulder, "Gah! Why?! Why is it so hard to do what's right?!"

I heard a whisper, just loud enough that I could make out what it was saying, but not loud enough for me to make out whose voice it was, "You made it, Grovyle... You made it..."

_I did make it... Okay..._

I shouted to the sky, "Is Connor alive?!"

There was no reply. I growled as I pulled out my map, and hovered my hand over the location of fogbound lake, knowing that that was where we were supposed to regroup, if we got separated. It showed a familiar plateau surrounded by thick fog, so I figured it'd be easy enough to get to.

"Where am I?"

I found my outline on the map, and I shook my head, "Amp plains…? How did I get sent so far off…?"

I traced a path into the wonder map, and I recalled where the other time gears were. "Treeshroud forest is on the way… Alright, let's get started…"

I looked to the sky in hope, hope that Connor really was alive, and that he was going to meet me at fogbound lake. "Connor… Wherever you are… If you can hear me, if you're alive… We made it."

* * *

_**Alright guys... The last part of Grovyle's story in the future of Darkness. Feel free to review or leave a PM if you enjoyed the story. It has been a good run so far, and I can't wait to see where the story goes next! Thanks a bunch to Kurashi, DeoxysSpeed, and Yamato for your support through this story and the last, and I hope to receive the same kind of support for the next installment!**_

**_The Vote is finished; I have the results!_**

_**-PL**_

_**The Poll results:**_

_**Team Firestorm Story: 3 **_

**_Continuing Grovyle's Story: 2 _**

**_Redoing Grovyle's Story: 0_**

**_I will begin work on Team Firestorm Story immediately! Much Love! (I will be updating my progress on my profile, for those of you that might grow impatient.)_**


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